Aston Villa have four players at the World Cup, and Unai Emery will be keeping an eye on all of them, as well as Belgium star Eden Hazard.
According to Defensa Central in Spain, the 51-year-old is keen to bring the 31-year-old to Villa Park as his future at Real Madrid looks increasingly uncertain.
It would be an incredible signing in terms of Hazard’s superstar status, and SofaScore have now released data which will make Emery even more tempted to sign the Belgian.
Hazard 2nd only to Messi in World Cup dribbling charts
Well, the likes of Diego Maradona, Eusebio and Johan Cruyff all made names for themselves as legends in football, mainly as a result of their exquisite dribbling skills.
Interestingly, Hazard is down as a better dribbler than all three – as well as Paul Gascoigne, Arjen Robben and Neymar.
As you can see above, the Aston Villa target has registered 5.9 dribbles per game at the World Cup, with Visual Game compiling a chart of the best dribblers at the tournament since data was first collected for that metric in 1966.
Hazard had made 11 appearances at the World Cup ahead of Belgium’s opening game against Canada today, scoring three goals while also providing four assists.
That is a superb record, and despite his issues at Real Madrid, it would surely be worth Emery taking a gamble on him by offering a one-year contract.
Hazard could make Aston Villa pursuit difficult at World Cup
As things stand, we believe the Villans could sign Hazard quite easily.
The Belgian is out of favour under Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid, and will have just 12 months remaining on his contract at the end of the season, so a sale is likely.
However, Hazard could play himself into the sights of a bigger club if he shows he still has the talent to make an impact at the World Cup.
Therefore, a small part of Emery might be hoping that Hazard struggles in Qatar, although only time will tell how the Real Madrid No.7 performs.
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