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It is no secret that Eden Hazard is heavily linked with Real Madrid recently. As time goes by, Hazard's departure seems to be more and more likely for Chelsea. A recent report states that Hazard will inform Chelsea about his decision to join Madrid at the end of the season.
Now Chelsea will have the daunting task of replacing their most important player. This season, Hazard already netted 12 goals while also becoming the player with the most assists (10) in Premier League.
According to Give Me Sport, Chelsea could land either Hirving Lozano, Lorenzo Insigne, or Leon Bailey to replace their Belgian superstar. Though if there's a player that could be Hazard's long term replacement, it should be Lozano. Now we will analyze the massively talented Mexican.
Goalscoring ability
Replacing Hazard means that a player should have lethal finishing ability. Lozano plays equally well with both feet, scoring 7 goals in 12 appearances as a right-forward and 6 goals in 9 appearances playing in the opposite flank.
Apart from his impressive form in Eredivisie, Lozano also has decent goal statistics in the Champions League, scoring against top opposition like Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan. He is also an excellent long shot taker who could score from outside the box.
Link-up play
Not just a lethal attacker, Hazard also could link-up with his teammates very well, an attribute that made him the Premier League player with most assists. Fortunately, Lozano also matches this characteristic.
The Mexican winger has already bagged 6 assist from 19 Eredivisie appearances and is well-known for his ability to create key passes. Not just in open play, Lozano also does extremely well in set pieces and is able to accurately deliver the ball to his teammates in a dead-ball situation.
Weaknesses
Although Lozano could be a perfect alternative to Hazard in terms of goals and assists, the Mexican player isn't as good a dribbler as the Belgian. Not just with his average dribbling ability, Lozano sometimes could also frustrate his teammates with his weak passing accuracy.
The PSV player has recorded a 76.1 per cent passing accuracy combined across all competitions, well below Hazard's 82.8 per cent. Just like Hazard, Lozano's defensive contribution also needs improving.
Conclusion
Compared to Insigne and Bailey, Lozano will be a better option. Insigne transfer seems unlikely because Napoli's president, Aurelio De Laurentiis won't let Maurizio Sarri sign any more Napoli players following Jorginho's arrival to Chelsea. Apart from that fact, Insigne's £140 million price tag will be a massive stumbling block for The Blues.
On the other hand, Bailey's form plummeted this season and the Jamaican winger will cost Chelsea about £52 million. Lozano could be available for a lower price and represents the best bet for Cheslea.
