Chelsea are currently enjoying themselves in the top four of the Premier League. The team is playing exciting football, scoring lots of goals and showing that young players deserve to play. However, one can only imagine: what if Eden Hazard had decided to stay last summer?
Chelsea have emerged with a new face and a new brand in English football. The reasons all come back to Frank Lampard, the club legend, injecting an dynamic attacking style of play into the team. Building real relationships with the young players who admire him so much, Lampard has fostered respect, civility and connection between players, staff and the manager.
The team is happy and so are the fans, for the most part. But last week, former Chelsea player Eden Hazard praised Lampard and the team in an interview. Hazard prompted the nostalgic thought: with things as they are in the season, what if Hazard had stayed one more year?
Hazard is a magnificent player, a super star Chelsea were fortunate to have for as long as they did. His contribution to the club was that of legends, helping Chelsea win just about every trophy with his magic.
However, Hazard staying would have halted the progress of the team.
First, from the tactical standpoint, there would be less fluidity on the pitch. Considering what we know about Hazard from watching him on the pitch for several hundred games, every current player would simply watch him play or freeze once he is the ball. This happened many times last season, but since he was scoring constantly, everyone let it slide. Although it was Hazard’s brilliance that carried Chelsea to glory last season, there was always a problem: he was so good everyone wanted to admire the magic rather than produce it.
Chelsea were over reliant on the Belgian and individuals would restrict themselves from showcasing their own talents.
That single aspect would be even more true now than in previous seasons. While one could expect players like Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount to contribute, idolizing the likes of Hazard on the field would be inevitable. Rather than doing what they have been doing to this point, they would only be acting as support rather than the driving force of the team.
Second, Chelsea would have likely lost Callum Hudson-Odoi. Although there are no quotes or official statements, it is no secret that one of the reasons Hudson-Odoi stayed was because he would be given a real chance at playing this year. With Hazard still in the picture, that would have been one less spot for the Englishman to fight for. He would have not signed the new contract and, by now, would have been at Bayern Munich or simply awaiting the final details.
On a similar note, Chelsea might have wasted the talent of Christian Pulisic. Sure, Willian or Pedro could have been off-loaded to make a bit more room. But even then, Chelsea were aware that they needed as many talented and experienced players as possible for this season. At most, one of those two veterans would have stayed along with Hazard.
Keeping Hazard would have kept Pulisic from having a real presence in the team. The Belgian would still be the player to watch and to rely on, and that would have opened no opportunities to young stars like Christian Pulisic.
Finally, Lampard’s philosophy and authority would not be what it is today. During his time at Chelsea, Hazard was a leader – not in a Cesar Azpilicueta way, but in a game-changing, game-winning, let him do what he wants to do because you need him to do it kind of way – and the team, as well as the managers, seemed to play for him. This season, Lampard has changed that. The players work together to follow Lampard’s instructions rather than support that one super star.
In short, Chelsea have unity and the highest level of teamwork, attributes that will lead them to win many trophies together, if not this year, then surely the next. If Eden Hazard was still in the picture, such exciting aspects of the current Chelsea would probably not exist. Hazard would probably win Chelsea a few more games this season, as he normally does, but those would be mortgages against more wins in several seasons ahead.
Chelsea are building for the future and they are doing it correctly so far. Eden Hazard will go down as a Chelsea legend, one that made everyone in the world turn their head toward Stamford Bridge just to watch his brilliance.
But he is the past, and he left his legacy. Now, Chelsea must focus on the blueprint they have created for the future.