Pundit reacts as West Ham named among favourites to sign Real Madrid star Eden Hazard
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie has cast doubt over the possibility of West Ham signing big-money Real Madrid attacker Eden Hazard.
According to the Sunday Mirror earlier this month (05/12/2021, pg 70), Hazard, 30, wants to return to the Premier League in January with West Ham and Everton leading the chase for the Belgian.
While happy to hear such a star-studded name linked to the London Stadium, ex-Irons forward McAvennie is unsure over how the 85-goal Premier League man would adapt to David Moyes’ demands of his players.
McAvennie told West Ham Zone: “I don’t see that happening because they’ve got [Manuel] Lanzini, [Pablo] Fornals, [Said] Benrahama. I don’t know if they need another one of those.
“Would Hazard work his socks off like a Lanzini? I don’t know. He’s a good player, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not done it at Real Madrid. That can happen, I understand that, but I don’t see any enthusiasm to come.
“The West Ham players at the moment, when they lose the ball they’re chasing it to win it back quickly, so I don’t know if Hazard is the kind of player David Moyes would want. It’s great Hazard has been mentioned in the same breath but I can’t see it happening.”
Irons no-go
After seven seasons with Chelsea where he won two Premier League titles, two Europa League titles and two domestic cups, Hazard moved to Real Madrid in 2019.
However, 55 appearances later, Hazard has scored just five times, failing to find form and fitness in the Spanish capital.
He has fallen behind the likes of Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo in the pecking order and a move may be necessary for the “amazing” talent [Jose Mourinho, talkSPORT] in order to reignite his career.
But a move to West Ham, who he has scored three career goals against, looks highly unlikely for financial and sporting reasons.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are lining up a January loan deal for this 22-cap centre-back.
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