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Employed as a modern left winger in that he is placed on the left to cut inside on his right foot, Eden Hazard is one of the most precocious talents to emerge in European football for years. With pace, skill and the seemingly boundless confidence to use these attributes effectively, the scouting department at Lille can give themselves a well-earned pat on the back judging by his elecric performances for the Ligue 1 club so far.
What marks him out from many other skilful young hopefuls breaking through the ranks in the world today is the maturity and intelligence he displays on the field. His vision and awareness of where his teammates are rivals that of an experienced international, and crucially he has the technical ability to pick out the right pass at the right time to them as well. Small, difficult to dispossess with an accurate shot make him a very dangerous player to keep in check and he rarely plays 90 minutes without providing some form of contribution. Indeed, the French defences struggled to subdue Hazard last season which saw him pick up the Young Player of The Year award, the first international starlet to do so ever in French football.
If he can continue to develop his all-round game as well as learning to channel his expressive style more effectively rather than just doing stepovers for the sake of it, he looks like he will become a household name in world football for years to come. He has already spurned the advances of moves to more illustrious clubs (with notably both Manchester United and Arsenal sniffing around), believing that his development would be better served at Lille where he has only really had one full season under his belt.
Hazard has represented Belgium at Under-17, Under-18 and U-19 level, making a name for himself in various international tournaments at the aforementioned levels, before earning his first senior cap for his country in November 2008.
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