Was Eden Hazard’s first season at Chelsea a success? (Video)
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. This statement is definitely true when we look back at a season of football but sometimes it just has to be done. Let’s take a look at Eden Hazard’s transfer from Lille to Chelsea last summer through hindsight to see if it was a success.
Hazard was a wanted man this time last year as he hit 20 league goals for Lille, which is mightily impressive for a then 20-year-old. He was chased for long periods by Manchester United and Manchester City but in the end he chose London and transferred to Chelsea for around £30million.
The young Belgian turned up in the Premier League and made an instant impact, making three assists, winning two penalties and scoring once in Chelsea’s first three games which fired them to the top of the league. Despite a slight dip in form mid-season, Hazard came back in the later stages of the season, particularly impressing against Man Utd in the F.A Cup and West Ham in the league.
He ended the season with an incredible 62 appearances to his names in all competitions as Chelsea fought hard on four fronts. The Belgian notched up 13 goals and 25 assists in all competitions with nine goals and 16 assists coming in the league. These individual stats saw him nominated for both the PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year and picked in the PFA Team of the Year which are all great achievements considering it was his first year in England.
His individual performances were impressive but Hazard will look back on the 2012-13 season with even more fondness as Chelsea picked up their second European trophy in two years, beating Benfica to win the Europa League. They also reached semi-finals in both the F.A Cup and the League Cup and considering how many competitions they were fighting in, achieved a very respectable 3rdplace finish in the Premier League.
So hindsight tells us that Hazard’s transfer was a very good one as he achieved so much in just one year. He seems to have adapted magnificently to the physical nature and pace of the Premier League with ease despite that mid-season dip in form. He has all the potential to be one of the best players in the world; there is no doubt about that.
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