PFA Player of the Year: Assessing The Candidates
By David Rouben
Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard playing for Chelsea against Norwich City. Ben Sutherland [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsHazard should be the one taking home the Player of the Year by virtue of being the best player on the best team. When it comes to Premier League players, he’s truly in a class of his own. No matter how much opposing defences try to hone in on him, he finds a way to dribble past them with ease. He’s by far the most fouled player in the Premier League, meaning he’s on the same caliber as Arjen Robben in that the only way anyone can stop him is to foul him.
His totals of 12 goals and 8 assists this season don’t begin to tell the whole story, as he has created the most chances for Chelsea, while his teammates look to him for inspiration on offense almost every game. Whereas Costa has experienced a dip in form, Hazard has been a model of consistency, and he has remained healthy despite being the most-fouled player in the league.
That he makes such an impact at only 24 years old means that he hasn’t even reached his peak yet, and he’s only a few steps away from really being considered a world-class player. Him winning the award would be big for the club as well, as it would mark the first time a Chelsea player has won Player of the Year since John Terry in the 2004-05 campaign.
A repeating trend among the last three Player of the Year winners is that they were all sold right after their award-winning campaigns. If Hazard does join the ranks of them, he would no doubt command a high price on the transfer market. However, I personally wouldn’t want to sell him for £100 million.
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