Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has described Eden Hazard as the best player in the Premier League.
Hazard produced a match-winning cameo during Chelsea's EFL Cup third-round win over Liverpool at Anfield this evening, sealing a 2-1 triumph with a stunning solo effort five minutes from time.
Carragher went as far as mentioning Hazard in the same breath as Diego Maradona and Pele, but believes that Chelsea will be hard-pressed to keep the Belgian at the club given that he has less than two years remaining on his contract and has been heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid in the past.
"All the greatest players have the power. Think of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Gianfranco Zola and you can even go back to Diego Maradona and Pele. They can't be bullied in football. Even though they are great players, you think 'how do you stop them?' You can't knock them off the ball and he has got that power and strength in the legs and the backside," Carragher told Sky Sports News.
"When the ball goes wide it's like the best player in the schoolyard saying 'give me the ball'. He wasn't in a great position to receive it, but then he scored the goal. I said on commentary that he is the best player in the Premier League. It's not because he scored that goal, I believe it. I think he should have been named the best player of the World Cup also.
"He is an absolute superstar. The last domestic cup game he played was the FA Cup final. He won that game by winning the penalty and scoring it. He won this game as well. There's definitely going to be a question asked in January or at the end of the season when he will only have 12 months left. Then you are into that Thibaut Courtois territory and he ended up going to Madrid.
"I'm not trying to get Hazard out of Chelsea, but when Madrid or Barcelona come for one of your players it's so difficult to keep hold of them because it's every player's dream, certainly foreign players. Liverpool have had that with Xabi Alonso and Luis Suarez and even Cristiano Ronaldo left Man United. I think Chelsea will have a problem in the summer."
Hazard has already scored six goals in seven appearances for Chelsea this season.
Barney Corkhill
