Chelsea came ‘very close’ to landing world-class Premier League star who would have been better signing than Eden Hazard

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Eden Hazard may just be the best signing Chelsea have ever made in the Premier League era.

During his time at Stamford Bridge, Eden Hazard managed to make 352 appearances and score 110 times for the Blues.

Those goals helped Chelsea to win two Premier League titles, two Europa League trophies, one FA Cup and one League Cup.

It cost the club just £32m to sign Hazard from Lille as well, showing just what a bargain he was. It is a hard signing to beat, but Chelsea arguably came close to doing so in the summer of 2017.

• READ MORE: Eden Hazard said Chelsea teammate was ‘the best in the world’ in his position, he gave Blues ‘95 per cent chance’ to win every game

Chelsea came close to signing Virgil van Dijk

After guiding Chelsea to title success in the 2016/17 season, Antonio Conte wanted to build a dynasty in west London.

The Italian was keen for Virgil van Dijk and Romelu Lukaku to be part of that and revealed in 2020 that Chelsea actually came “very close” to landing both players.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Conte said: “I asked for two players and we were very, very close after we won the league. One player was Romelu Lukaku, the second player was Virgil van Dijk, and these two players were very, very close.

“We were in contact every day and I always said that with these two players we would improve my team by 30 per cent.”

In the end, Chelsea signed neither, with Van Dijk eventually going on to join Liverpool, where he has established himself as the best central defender in world football.

Brighton & Hove Albion captain and Chelsea fan Lewis Dunk would still have John Terry over Van Dijk, but who the better centre-half is can easily be debated.

Why Virgil van Dijk would have been a better signing than Eden Hazard for Chelsea

Hazard’s impact at Chelsea was simply incredible. He constantly bailed the Blues out of trouble and without him, they would not have won the 2014/15 and 2016/17 Premier League titles.

However, assessing Van Dijk’s time at Liverpool, the Dutchman could have been as impactful as Hazard at Chelsea and over a longer period of time.

At their peak under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool looked invincible with Van Dijk at the back. In his first full season at Anfield, the Reds lost just one Premier League game and only conceded 22 goals. Even champions Manchester City conceded more times and were beaten on more occasions.

While Klopp’s men could not get over the line in the Premier League that year, they did go on to win the Champions League before eventually claiming the title the following campaign, with Van Dijk at the heart of their success.

Hazard was never able to help Chelsea win Europe’s elite competition and joined Real Madrid, during a point in time where the Blues could not even replace him because of a transfer ban, to achieve his dream.

It saw his seven-year spell in west London come to an end, with the former winger spending four seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu before retiring in 2023 at the age of just 32.

In contrast, at 33, Van Dijk is still going strong at Liverpool and is into his eighth season there, yet to be lured away by the likes of Real Madrid or Barcelona like Hazard and so many other elite footballers.

Ultimately, you can make a case that Van Dijk could have been as influential as Hazard for Chelsea and over a longer period of time. Had Chelsea finalised a deal for the Netherlands international all those summers ago, you may have been looking at the club’s greatest ever signing.