News Updates

"Chelsea star Eden Hazard will go for Mohamed Salah's SHIRT after Liverpool clash"

The Blues Key Man has been so impressed by Mohamed Salah’s stunning impact at Liverpool that he will ask for his shirt at Anfield.

Chelsea star Hazard became close friends with Salah during the Egyptian’s brief spell in west London.

And the £34m winger, who will be marked man when he faces his old club, can first expect pal Hazard to turn the heat up on him.

Hazard said: “I will speak to Mo, I want to put pressure on him! We are still in contact together.

“At Chelsea we started to talk together and now he is still my friend. We talk about everything - life, football, everything.

“It’s good to have friends in this world because in football you can’t have a lot of friends.

“I want him to do well, but not a lot, because we want to win.

“But I want to ask him for his shirt, for sure.”

Salah failed to win over then Blues boss Jose Mourinho after joining from Basel for £11m in January 2014.

He made just six league starts before being farmed out on loan out to Fiorentina and Roma and eventually headed to the Italian capital two years later on a permanent basis.

“He has quality but in this period I remember it was me, Willian, Oscar and Juan Mata also. So for him it was not easy.” Eden Hazard

But he has been a revelation on his Premier League return. He is the top-flight’s top scorer on nine goals and already boasts 15 in total in all competitions.

Hazard admitted Mourinho had not given the 25-year-old a chance, despite him showing ability galore in training sessions.

The Belgian playmaker added: “In training he did everything. Even in the games when he was playing, sometimes he scored goals.

“So we know the quality he has. He didn’t get the chance. Maybe because of the manager, because of the players, I don’t know.

“He has quality but in this period I remember it was me, Willian, Oscar and Juan Mata also. So for him it was not easy.

“But he’s a top player for sure. I am just happy for him. At Liverpool he is still doing well so I think we need to be careful with him.”

Hazard, though, backed Salah’s decision to quit for first-team football, saying he would have done the same in a similar situation.

He added: “When you are not playing in one club you need to go.

Mohamed Salah has been in blistering form for Liverpool this season

“That’s normal because all the players want to play.

“He’s a top, top, top player. He didn’t get his chance at Chelsea but we know, in the team, the quality he has.

“This season he has scored a lot of goals. But Liverpool is not only about Salah - they have a lot of players.”

Just as Salah is going through a purple patch, Hazard believes he is now back to his best after the start of his season was curtailed by a broken ankle.

He has six goals in his last seven outings for the Blues and shined as Chelsea booked their place in the Champions League knockout stages with a 4-0 win against Qarabag on Wednesday night.

Hazard added: “I’m feeling good, 100 per cent. I’m feeling the same feeling as last year before the injury.

“And of course when you are winning games it helps. Confidence is high, everything is in our hands to win games.”