Chelsea star Eden Hazard is the best dribbler in Europe’s top five leagues ahead of Neymar and Lionel Messi…while Paul Pogba ranks 12th.
According to the most recent data from the CIES Football Observatory, Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is the finest dribbler in Europe’s top five leagues, even better than Neymar and Lionel Messi.
The Belgian superstar won out after numbers were crunched using a technique that multiplied his average number of dribbles each game by his success rate.
On average, Hazard completes 6.4 successful dribbles each Premier League match, with 75% of those dribbles leading to a positive consequence like a pass to a teammate, shot, or goal. Hazard has scored 15 goals for Chelsea this season in all competitions and set up 11 more.
Hazard almost edged out PSG teammate and Brazilian superstar Neymar, who averages more dribbling attempts per game but more often gives the ball away.
This season, Neymar has matched his ex-Barcelona teammate Messi’s 62 percent success rate on dribbling attempts. Tottenham midfielder Moussa Dembele has the highest dribbling success rate, despite the fact that he dribbles less frequently than any other player. The CIES index ranked Dembele at the same level as Tanguy Ndombele, a 21-year-old midfielder on loan to Lyon from Amiens. Arthur Masuaku of West Ham, together with Southampton’s Sofiane Boufal andMario Lemina, round out the top 10 players from the Premier League.
Paul Pogba of Manchester United is tied for twelfth place in the league with Andre Carrillo of Watford. Pogba averages three dribble attempts per league game, with a success rate of 73%.
Nine of the top 15 players on the list either currently play for a French team or have played for a French team in the past, demonstrating the success of the French system in producing talented athletes.
Tottenham is reportedly eyeing a move for Chelsea outcast Edouard Mendy to replace club legend Hugo Lloris.
The Spurs goalkeeper with the most Premier League appearances in club history is retiring at the end of the current campaign after 13 years with the club.
According to reports, Al-Hilal are willing to offer Lloris, 36, an eye-watering €1.3 million per month to get the France World Cup winner to Saudi Arabia.
Spurs have not named a permanent replacement for Antonio Conte, but whoever Daniel Levy chooses (with Arne Slot of Feyenoord as the current leader), they are unlikely to stand in the way of Lloris and try to convince him to stay.
The Sun reports that Spurs are preparing for the upcoming Chelsea firesale even though they do not yet have a new manager.
Upon taking over at Stamford Bridge, Mauricio Pochettino will be challenged with cutting a bloated team that contributed to Graham Potter’s dismissal.
Nearly three years ago, Mendy was recommended to Chelsea by Petr Cech and promptly replaced record-setting signing Kepa Arrizabalaga as the team’s starting goalkeeper. His play was crucial in helping Thomas Tuchel’s team win the Champions League against all odds, but he hasn’t been himself in the last year.
Actually, he hadn’t played a competitive match for Chelsea since the World Cup break in December, and he was largely to blame for Nottingham Forest’s first goal in their2-2 draw last Saturday. The 31-year-old is rumored to have turned down many new contract offers, so Chelsea may let him depart this summer, even if it’s to a rival club.
Chelsea’s new owner, Todd Boehly, has already spent more than £600 million on players since taking over the club, but he plans to spend big again this summer on a new goalkeeper.
The west London club has reportedly shown interest in Brentford’s David Raya, Porto’s Diogo Costa, and Everton’s Jordan Pickford.