Eden Hazard’s time at Real Madrid has been nothing short of a disaster, and just now I was thinking, “Imagine if you’d told me this in 2019, when Real first signed Hazard.” I would’ve absolutely started breaking things.
Anyway, there is optimism for this season, because Eden Hazard has now had his plate removed, which means there is no discomfort in his leg. It truly might unleash a version of Hazard that we haven’t seen before at the club, although it’ll still not be as good as the one we saw at Chelsea.
But, for that to happen, Hazard needs to play. He needs to play a lot more than he is currently, and right now, I don’t see that happening.
However, Ancelotti did reveal his plans for Hazard in the first pre-season press conference, when he told Kiyan Sobhani this:
Carlo Ancelotti just now: "My idea is to try to give Eden in the false 9 position. It can be good for us to have him there."
— Kiyan Sobhani (@KiyanSo) July 14, 2022
That’s new.
If Hazard as a false 9 is a success, Real Madrid probably won’t sign a striker
Real Madrid fans across the world think there is a need to sign a back-up to Karim Benzema, because of what happens when he doesn’t play for the club. However, I think that to see a cold striker who hasn’t played in a while to underperform when Benzema is out, that’s not the right way to do things. I was in the favour of signing a player like Serge Gnabry, but that’s out of the window now. Real Madrid won’t sign a striker, though.
Real Madrid could use Hazard there, and they plan on doing so in the pre-season at least. If it works, then there is absolutely no hope for Real to consider signing a striker. If it doesn’t work, then they still have Rodrygo to try and play as striker.
Now, talking about the actual role. Hazard, at worst, is still a very good player to link-up with other teammates. He could create space for them, and even if his shooting isn’t nearly as good as Karim Benzema’s, the club could still benefit a lot from his linkup play and decision-making. It would give Hazard some minutes and hopefully, he is able to build on that as the season progresses.
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I imagine Hazard is going to start as a false nine in the friendly against Barcelona, because Benzema still hasn’t joined training. So, it would make sense for him to get that chance against Barcelona in the States.