Do we have a chance with Hazard?

Tommy said:
Wow, fair play :lol: Points well made. But the one thing missing from that list is selling a big player to a rival team. Both Chelsea & United aspire to win the PL, so for that reason alone, I can't see Chelsea selling. At the time Arsenal sold RVP, I don't really believe the owners had that same thirst & motivation to top the table as you/Chelsea have demonstrated.
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Yeah I agree, but knowing how brainless they can be I wouldn’t be surprised to see them selling a big player to a rival team. They already sold Matic to us which never made any sense. Mata too who was their best player two seasons in a row up until that season when they sold him in january.

Anyway, I also can’t see it happening. Hazard would surely prefer going to a club that he knows will challenge for the biggest titles next season. United can’t guarantee that. Also, I can’t see United spending a lot of money on him when we already have Martial for his position.
 
FromTheBench said:
They did sell us both Mata and Matic directly.

And both were still performing for them.
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They had Kante, but the Mata one was weird. Jose came in & clearly didn't fancy him, despite him being their POTY for like, 3 seasons out of 4 or something crazy? That was the manager wanting him out, & the board trusting him unequivocally.

So true, maybe there is some precedent for it. But Hazard is a tier above Mata in all regards, so we'll just have to wait and see. Fair fecks to you if you do pull it off.
 
Tommy said:
They had Kante, but the Mata one was weird. Jose came in & clearly didn't fancy him, despite him being their POTY for like, 3 seasons out of 4 or something crazy? That was the manager wanting him out, & the board trusting him unequivocally.

So true, maybe there is some precedent for it. But Hazard is a tier above Mata in all regards, so we'll just have to wait and see. Fair fecks to you if you do pull it off.
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Hazard himself does not want to join United, let alone Chelsea wanting to sell him to us.
 
FromTheBench said:
They did sell us both Mata and Matic directly.

And both were still performing for them.
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Chelsea wanted to sell Matic (foolishly or not) and Mata was surplus to requirements for Mourinho.

Would United sell Pogba to another EPL team if his contract was up next year? Definitely not, and for the same reasons Chelsea won’t. It’s absurd to think United can pluck Chelsea’s best players that they wish to keep, regardless of contract situations.
 
Chelsea won't sell him to us so the question is moot but the comparison to Alexis is not valid.

Hazard's base competence (1v1 dribbling) is one which will be effective across systems and managers. It is a bit like Aguero (or Rvn) with his movement around the box who was not in Pep's team at all but forced him way in.

Players with a high percentile ability in their base competence tend to age well (Ronaldo and Messi are obviously good examples as well).

Players who do not really have a base competence but "work hard" and are good in a lot of facets generally don't. We see that with Rooney, Tevez, Vidal, Alexis.

Pogba is another example tbh, he has both struggled and excelled for United and France depending on the system and manager since there is no obvious high percentile "base competence".
 
I think he’ll stay at Chelsea until his decline begins, at which point he’ll make an (even bigger) cash-in move to some cashed-up league before retiring.
 
SinNombre said:
Chelsea won't sell him to us so the question is moot but the comparison to Alexis is not valid.

Hazard's base competence (1v1 dribbling) is one which will be effective across systems and managers. It is a bit like Aguero (or Rvn) with his movement around the box who was not in Pep's team at all but forced him way in.

Players with a high percentile ability in their base competence tend to age well (Ronaldo and Messi are obviously good examples as well).

Players who do not really have a base competence but "work hard" and are good in a lot of facets generally don't. We see that with Rooney, Tevez, Vidal, Alexis.

Pogba is another example tbh, he has both struggled and excelled for United and France depending on the system and manager since there is no obvious high percentile "base competence".
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So, what you’re saying is that players with a very strong single natural ability are likely to age well. And if they’re very good at multiple aspects they’re unlikely to age well? I’m not sure I’m buying that. What’s the logic? Hazard’s dribbling is very much linked to his agility and explosiveness, something that should decline with age.
 
Yes. We'd have a great chance if we want him.

But it'll be Thorgan Hazard who is still pretty good, just not as good
 
Macern said:
So, what you’re saying is that players with a very strong single natural ability are likely to age well. And if they’re very good at multiple aspects they’re unlikely to age well? I’m not sure I’m buying that. What’s the logic? Hazard’s dribbling is very much linked to his agility and explosiveness, something that should decline with age.
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Messi is almost 32 and obviously hasn't declined as far his ability to beat players go.

Robben was productive for Bayern well into his 30s. Giggs obviously was still leaving defenders for dead at 35+.

I am not talking about natural abilities necessarily but think of it as a system transcendental "spike" in their game. Rvn was top scoring for RM in La Liga as he was turning 31. Scholes, Xavi, Pirlo were all effective well into their 30s, a "spike" in being able to read the game and pass the ball well will need a lot of deterioration in physical ability to stop being effective.

As the game changes, manager changes, system changes, you start losing agility; having such a "spike" means that you are starting in one very effective facet of the game from the highest level possible.
 
SinNombre said:
Giggs obviously was still leaving defenders for dead at 35+.
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Wasn't Giggs moved into central midfield around the age of 35 in large part because he wasn't able to do that anymore?
 
Donk87 said:
Wasn't Giggs moved into central midfield around the age of 35 in large part because he wasn't able to do that anymore?
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He was still able to do it just not for 90 mins
 
If it was in any way possible, he would be the perfect signing. Imagine a front 3 of:
Martial Rashford
Hazard
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With Pogba behind. Would instantly have us competing for everything provided we sort out the CB, right back and midfield depth. Don't think there's a chance though. Guess we'll just have to settle for Sancho!
 
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