Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has emerged as the favourite to sign Lille’s Belgian starlet Eden Hazaard at the end of the season.
Arsenal have mounted their most convincing title challenge in years this season, with inconsistencies from each of the top teams resulting in a tightly contested Premier League. The falterings of Chelsea and less frequently Manchester United have given the Gunners an added impetus to their league campaign.
However, Arsenal’s inability to fully capitalize reinforces the belief that Wenger’s side need to add another dimension to their squad. With Andrei Arshavin desperately short of form and Theo Walcott still yet to fully convince the Arsenal fans, another option on the wing is being considered by the French tactician.
The 19-year-old Hazard is held in high esteem by a number of top European clubs including Manchester United, Chelsea, Inter Milan and and Valencia. Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane suggested he would “take Hazard to Madrid with my eyes closed”, personally recommending the Belgian star to Florentino Perez.
“What he has been doing for his club has been extraordinary,” Zidane insisted.
Such praise from one of the most respected footballer’s in the history of the sport has undoubtedly raised the profile and the price-tag of the youngster, but a source close to the player has insisted he is likely to leave Lille at the end of the season.
“There is a lot of interest in Eden currently as you would expect,” the source told Sport.
“Which top club in football wouldn’t want to be interested in such a fantastic talent? But obviously one must look at the situation from the perspective of Lille. It is impossible to talk about a move in January even if the player wanted to leave.
“As I said many top managers and clubs are interested in Eden. Arsenal have a lot of French players, and Eden is from Belgium, so language would not be a problem. He is a talented young player like many of Arsenal’s players, but we will have to wait and see.”
