Shades of Cesc & Hazard: Chelsea in talks to sign "one of the world's best"

Unsurprisingly, given their immense success, Chelsea have been blessed with some utterly sensational players over the last two decades.

The likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba all cemented themselves as club and Premier League legends in the 2000s and early 2010s.

Then, after them, came another crop of world-class title-winners, with perhaps two of the most entertaining being Cesc Fàbregas and Eden Hazard.

Both players were absolute magicians with a football, and so fans should be excited about reports linking Chelsea to someone who has shades of both in his game.

Chelsea target international with shades of Cesc & Hazard

It’s been a brilliant summer for Chelsea so far this year, as on top of their successes on the pitch, the Blues have been efficient and intelligent with their transfers off of it.

BlueCo have sold incredibly well so far, and brought in players who should be able to make a real difference for Enzo Maresca this season, like Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Jorrel Hato.

However, with the window still open for another two weeks, the West Londoners appear intent on making at least one more addition to the team and are targeting a player who reminds us a little of Fabregas and Hazard.

At least that is according to a recent report from transfers expert Fabrizio Romano, who has confirmed that Chelsea are still incredibly keen on Xavi Simons.

The Italian journalist has revealed that the Blues are still in talks and “working on the deal with Leipzig,” but have yet to reach an agreement with the German outfit.

Romano doesn’t mention how much the Dutchman is likely to cost the West Londoners, but stories from earlier this summer claim that the Bundesliga side want around £61m for him.

So, while it could still be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, Simons has proven he’d be worth the effort for Chelsea, especially as there are shades of Fabregas and Hazard in his game.

How Simons compares to Fabregas and Hazard

At their peak, both Fabregas and Hazard were near enough unplayable at times for Chelsea, and so even though fans should not expect Simons to be at that level from the word go, we don’t see a reason why he couldn’t get there, especially as there are some evident similarities between his game and theirs.

Starting with the Spaniard, the most apparent element of his game that we see in the Dutchman is his vision.

At times, the former Arsenal star was a conductor from the middle of the park, seeing passes before anyone else and playing balls in behind that opposition defences could do little about other than watch on.

This is something the former PSV Eindhoven gem can do as well, as, according to FBref, he sat in the top 1% of midfielders in the Bundesliga last season for through balls, the top 2% for passes into the penalty area and the top 5% for shot-creating actions stemming from live passes, all per 90.

In other words, the 22-year-old magician was incredible at passing the ball into dangerous areas for his teammates to exploit, which helps to support one analyst’s bold claim that he’s “one of the best 10s in the world.”

However, the Amsterdam-born dynamo is not just a creator, as he’s just as much of a goal threat, which is one of the traits he shares with Hazard, who left the Blues with a strong record of 110 goals in 352 games.

For example, despite playing just 33 games for Leipzig last season, Simons managed to score 11 goals to go along with his eight assists, which works out to a goal every three games – not a million miles off the Belgian’s rate of return for the Pensioners.

Moreover, while the La Masia graduate can play in the middle of the park, he’s also more than comfortable playing out on the left, where he can really demonstrate another trait he shares with the former Real Madrid ace: his close control.

We can see this by once again looking at FBref, as they ranked him in the top 3% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the Bundesliga last season for carries into the final third and the top 8% for fouls drawn, both per 90.

These numbers help to show that he’s not only elite at dragging the ball up the pitch and into dangerous areas, but that opposition defenders struggle to get it off him without committing a foul.

Ultimately, while it might take him some time to reach the levels of Fabregas or Hazard, Simons looks to be on his way, and therefore, Chelsea should be doing all they can to sign him as soon as possible.