This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
Real Madrid’s only blockbuster signing of the 2019 summer transfer window ended up being Eden Hazard.
Los Blancos reportedly had to spend a total of £89m to land their Belgian winger and snatch him away from Chelsea. And that figure might rise an additional £60m if certain bonuses are met along the way.
That much money would definitely put high expectations on any player, let alone one of Hazard’s pedigree and reputation.
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Most probably don’t need reminding that Hazard scored 110 goals in 352 games playing for the Blues.
But so far, Hazard has been taking quite a lot of time to fully adjust to life in Spain.
And yes, he finally netted his first goal at the club against Granada just last weekend but even with that strike, his performance was mostly underwhelming, at least for a player of his stature and especially for a player with such a huge price tag hanging above his head.
Apart from that goal, he also recorded only one key pass, one shot on target and just one dribble. Granted, that one shot on target ended up rattling the inside of Granada’s net but it wouldn’t really be a stretch to say the 28-year-old will have to find his groove sooner rather than later.
Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…
Real Madrid wait for no one, regardless of your price tag, your name or your supposed skills.
We know what Hazard is capable of and Zidane knows it as well. But the forward’s numbers have simply not been up the standard he’s supposed to be and that is definitely affecting the team as a whole.
So far, in the 2019/20 La Liga season, Hazard has tallied one shot, 1.3 key passes and 1.3 dribbles per game.
By all accounts, those are not really impressive figures. It has to be noted, however, that he only played in a total of four games in the competition, courtesy of that unlucky injury early on in the campaign.
But even so, saying that he was probably expected to hit the ground running sounds about right.
So far, he hasn’t done anything of note in the white shirt for Real and he will have to start racking up those performances pretty soon.
This might only be the start of his career in La Liga but the clock is already ticking.
