Former Chelsea player and current manager Frank Lampard has stated that it is in fact “pretty much impossible” to try and look for a player who could potentially replace Eden Hazard.
Notably, Hazard had a memorable stint with Chelsea and featured for them in seven long seasons before he moved to Real Madrid for a reported €100 million deal.
The Belgium International player was involved in as many as 31 goals in Premier League 2018-19 season and with him now in the Real Madrid camp, Chelsea will have huge boots to fill.
Lampard stated that Hazard, who was part of two Premier League winning seasons and two Europa League championships, just could not be replaced by one player alone.
“I was a huge fan of Eden Hazard as a Chelsea fan, I played with him,” Lampard said at a news conference ahead of UEFA Super Cup clash against Liverpool on Wednesday.
“For me, clearly one of the best players in world football and last season, but not just last season, over his time at Chelsea he was the most productive player in the team generally, in terms of assists and goals and a leader.
“You cannot replace him individually, I think it’s pretty much impossible because of the high, high level he is at now in his career.
“But the good news and the positive news for us and we must stay calm and be patient with this [is] we have a group of players, some younger players, some experienced players, that now have the opportunity to show that collectively and individually they can step up because yes, you are missing a huge amount of assists and goals, that’s clear.
“The answer is as a team, we have to find a way to carry on because a football club like Chelsea will always carry on. Eden Hazard, John Terry, Didier Drogba, players improve on and it’s down to the next players, the next manager. That’s our big challenge now, to say good luck to Eden Hazard and to carry on as Chelsea.”
Lampard believes that his team can perform well in Super Cup.
“I am optimistic because I believe in the players and I believe in the fact we are here in the final because we deserve to be,” Lampard said.
“That is the achievement of the players and the club last season, not myself, but I am proud to be here managing the team.
“I understand the quality of Liverpool, the team that deservedly won the Champions League. They have an outstanding manager [Jurgen Klopp] and group of players and we know it is going to be a big test, but I believe in my players and if we play to our maximum we can win the match,” he concluded.