3 reasons why Eden Hazard is a top Ballon d'Or contender for 2019

Eden Hazard is in the form of his life, playing some excellent football and acting as the driving force behind Chelsea’s resurgence under Maurizio Sarri.

Eden Hazard has scored eight goals in Premier League this season and assisted nine more. One of the best forwards in European football right now, he is definitely a player to watch out for in 2019.

A good season for Chelsea will put him in contention for the Ballon d'Or award next season. Lack of Champions League football might work against him but the Belgian international has every chance to win the Europa League.

In this piece, we take a look at three reasons why Eden Hazard is a top Ballon d'Or contender for 2019.

#3 His improved goal involvement

Eden Hazard is the top assist provider in the EPL

Having long been touted as a potential heir to the throne occupied by Messi and Ronaldo, Hazard always fell short as critics pointed to his low returns in front of goal.

For all of his undeniable brilliance and wizardry with the ball at his feet, Hazard was seen as not consistent enough to be the flag bearer of his side. However, this season is altogether a different story.

So far this campaign, Eden Hazard has set about righting that anomaly and currently has eight goals from 16 EPL matches.

He started the season like a house on fire, bagging a hat-trick in the 4-1 victory over Cardiff in September, which sent him into an early lead in the race for the EPL Golden Boot.

Even though he later suffered a drop in form, going 12 matches for club and country without scoring a goal, the 27-year-old was still creating chances for his teammates and currently tops the assists chart in the PL with nine assists.

He is the player with the most goal involvement in the EPL this season and contributions in the final third is a factor which could see Hazard in with a shout for the Ballon d'Or come next year.

#2 There is an improved maturity to his game

A sense of maturity has been added to Hazard's game, which was sorely missing in previous years. Hazard has also carried the mantle of leadership for his national team with Roberto Martinez’s decision to hand him the armband worked wonders.

He has earned rave reviews for his World Cup performance, particularly in the quarter-final. The manner in which Hazard expressed himself in Russia has shown us that the forward has come a long way in his career.

In recent times, he has been deployed in a false nine role as Morata and Giroud continue to misfire and rather than grumble or look disinterested as he did in previous years, Hazard has discharged his duties in a professional manner, sacrificing his personal glory for collective gain. Chelsea were better off for it as they ground out a 2-0 victory over Manchester City in a perfect smash and grab victory with Hazard grabbing both assists.

#1 A shot at Europa League glory

Chelsea are one of the top contenders to win the Europa League this season. The Blues qualified comfortably from their group and would now take on the Swedish champions Malmo in the next round.

The gulf in class between the Blues and most other teams in the competition means that they are one of the heavy favorites to triumph in this season's tournament, which would give Eden Hazard a shot at individual glory next year.

Though the Europa League is considered less prestigious than the Champions League, ever-increasing presence of top teams is definitely increasing its importance.

If Eden Hazard can lead Chelsea to victory in the Europa League this season, he is in with a real shot at the 2019 Ballon d'Or awards.