Eden Hazard believes that Juan Mata should be named the Player of the Year and the young Belgian relishes playing alongside the Chelsea number 10.
Mata has been hugely impressive since arriving at Stamford Bridge from Valencia last season but has undoubtedly grown in importance this season and has dragged us through some tough times along with Hazard, who has been great in his debut campaign for the Blues and surely a shoo-in for the young player of the year award ahead of players like Romelu Lukaku, Christian Benteke etc.
Hazard was quoted in the Daily Star:
“It’s a pleasure to play alongside Juan. He’s one of the best footballers in the Premier League.
“He has that ability to see and make the pass that others wouldn’t and sees it faster than others.
“He deserves to be the Player of the Year. Definitely. There are others who have performed very well this season but he’s my colleague, so I would back him.”
I’m a little bit surprised that Juan Mata has barely been mentioned in relation to the award considering the wonderful football he has played this season, and he has the stats to back up the praise he’s received with his 18 goals and 30 assists in all competitions. His influence is undeniable as we’ve only won one of the nine games he hasn’t featured in this season.
It seems as though either Robin van Persie (hasn’t scored in nine games for Manchester United) or Gareth Bale will likely win in the end, with Liverpool’s Luis Suarez being an outside contender.
No matter. The diminutive Spaniard is appreciated by his own fans as he has been an absolute joy to watch during a testing season and he’s arguably the closest thing we’ve had to Gianfranco Zola since the legendary Italian departed Stamford Bridge.
