Thorgan Hazard is in fine form for club and country currently. Many want him to join Eden Hazard at Chelsea but that may not be so easy.
Eden Hazard’s time at Chelsea has also included some brief family reunions. Kylian Hazard was brought in most recently. It is believed (though unclear) that he is still a Chelsea player on loan. Thorgan Hazard joined when Eden Hazard did, but he went on loan before eventually transferring to Gladbach.
Neither brother has reached the same heights as Eden Hazard, but Thorgan has gotten the closest. This season, he has an impressive 10 goals and five assists in just 13 appearances. Of most interest to Chelsea is that Thorgan Hazard has achieved his hottest form on the right wing and he carried that over to the national team playing opposite his brother.
Rumors of a buyback years ago failed to pan out but interest in a Hazard reunion at Chelsea is growing. A striker flanked by a Hazard either side is the stuff of Chelsea dreams. But Thorgan Hazard himself may be less interested in the idea.
It is alluring to see why fans would want Thorgan Hazard to join Eden Hazard at Chelsea once more. Not only does he improve the weakest spot in the starting XI, but it would also go a long way towards convincing Eden Hazard to stay at the club. After all, how many players would turn down the chance to play alongside their brother for club and country?
Well, Thorgan Hazard himself would for one. A few weeks ago, he said that he could not share a club team with Eden Hazard. His reasoning was that he would be in Eden Hazard’s shadow. And he is surely right.
Thorgan Hazard could not join Chelsea and be Thorgan Hazard. His name would almost always be prefixed as “Eden Hazard’s brother Thorgan”. People never want to be a footnote of someone else’s name and despite some things read on Twitter, footballers are people. Even if Eden Hazard left and Thorgan Hazard came in to replace him, he would still be “Eden Hazard’s brother Thorgan”.
In the Bundesliga, Thorgan Hazard can be his own man. Eden Hazard has not touched the league and is kept well separate by Gladbach fans and Bundesliga fans in general. There is still a bit of mention of Eden Hazard (because of course there will be), but for the most part Thorgan Hazard can be his own man. That is something that would not hold true at Chelsea.
Of course, things could change down the line. As Thorgan Hazard and Eden Hazard share the pitch more and more for Belgium, it could become possible for the two to coexist at club level. Thorgan Hazard is already showing himself capable of reaching his brother’s heights on occasion. If Chelsea and Eden Hazard can go out of their way to make Thorgan Hazard feel like his own person, anything is possible.
Maurizio Sarri would then gain a solid right winger with an eye for goals and assists. Thorgan Hazard is more direct than Eden Hazard and could help to give the squad an edge they are currently missing. But Eden Hazard’s shadow looms large over Thorgan Hazard and it would be difficult to convince him that he can come out of it and cast his own shadow.