On Sunday night, Belgian winger Eden Hazard was named the Professional Footballers Association Premier League Player of the Year for the 2014-15 season.
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For the first time in his Chelsea career, 24-year-old Hazard has been named by his peers as the best player the division has to offer.
Our #360debate today is: Has Hazard been the best in the Premier League this season?
Matt Monaghan, Reporter, thinks YES.
Cesc Fabregas has double his assists, Sergio Aguero has nearly twice as many Premier League goals and Angel Di Maria cost £28 million (Dh156m) more.
Yet there can be no doubt whatsoever that Eden Hazard deserves to be named the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year.
He possesses a power and influence way beyond his small frame. He shimmies into space and dances through defensive lines, adding the vital magic touch to a dutifully set-up Jose Mourinho side.
PHOTOS: @hazardeden10, @hkane28 & @jsy0341 are all smiles as they collect their PFA trophies #PFAawards pic.twitter.com/hxuPugOnZ1
— PFA (@PFA) April 26, 2015
A haul of 13 goals and eight assists is well below the benchmark set by recent PFA winners Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale, but statistics do not do justice to his majesty during Chelsea’s unstoppable march to the Premier League title.
He has never let his levels drop, his winner against Manchester United proving the difference last week just like he did against Queens Park Rangers all the way back on November 1.
Team-mate Fabregas and Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez began the season on fire before slowing down, Tottenham’s Harry Kane came to life in the winter while injury has hampered striker Diego Costa.
In contrast, Hazard has been the best player on the pitch in nearly all of the champions-elect’s 33 matches. He has provided Fabregas with an outlet and sparked Costa in to life, his value comes in making dogged defences doubt themselves.
Here’s how @hazardeden10‘s stats compare over the past three seasons. #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/Y5xQDyeOPs
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) April 26, 2015
Creation is always harder than destruction. This makes the 24-year-old’s rise to the top flight’s greatest attacking threat all the more credible.
Most sides set up not to be beaten against Chelsea, quelling their ambitions to salvage a point. Imagination is key to force the breakthrough.
Hazard forces fouls and asks questions, growing all the time under Mourinho. He has also improved defensively, without taking away from the incredible things he does with the ball at his feet.
Now a team player rather than the sole attraction in town, Hazard makes the runaway champions’ approach make sense. For that, he unreservedly deserves both individual and team glory.
Alam Khan, EPL correspondent, thinks NO.
When Jose Mourinho values him at £200 million (Dh1.1bn), it is no surprise to see Eden Hazard hailed as the Premier League’s top player this season.
There’s no doubting the mesmeric ability of the brilliant Belgian, but has he even been Chelsea’s best? Had Mourinho trusted Andre Schurrle or even Mohamed Salah and given them a run in the team at Hazard’s expense, would Chelsea’s title bid have suffered? No, I don’t think so.
Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas have been equally influential with goals and assists. Chelsea’s biggest asset has been their collective spirit and defensive steel.
Mourinho prepares his side to be solid first, and they have conceded just 26 goals, seven at home. That is the league’s best record, while their scoring tally of 65, albeit in one game fewer, is five short of Manchester City’s highest mark.
John Terry has been key at the back, the commander of a well-organised outfit. So it was surprising he wasn’t even in the six-man shortlist, never mind considered a worthy winner.
It would be a shame if his past misdemeanours, and unsavoury reputation, counted against him.
Of course, the flamboyant players are going to grab the attention with a moment of magic, but let’s not ignore the contributions of those keeping the opposition at bay.
It was Terry’s crunching tackle on Radamel Falcao that sparked the attack for Hazard’s winner against Manchester United last week and he was immense against the Gunners at the Emirates.
“I think this was John Terry’s greatest ever performance for me, it was amazing, out of this world” – Jose Mourinho pic.twitter.com/GzwObIGRId
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 26, 2015
At 34, he was expected to be eased out like Frank Lampard. But that seemed to spur Terry, to prove the doubters wrong. And he has done so in a manner befitting an inspirational captain.
Since Aston Villa’s Paul McGrath was honoured in 1993, only one other defender has since won the prize. That was Terry when he led Chelsea to their first title in 50 years.
A decade on, and he would have been just as deserving of being the league’s best player in the league’s best side.
