Two GREAT additions to Chelsea’s squad?

Shortly before the Champions League final of 2012, Chelsea released the news that they had an agreement in place between themselves and Wender Bremen to bring in German midfielder Marko Marin, and announced shortly after the Champions League that they had won the race to sign Belgian ace Eden Hazard after the playmaker announced that he chose the West London outfit over both the Manchester clubs. So just what do these two bring to the club, and what impact will they have?

Eden Hazard

We will start with the player who cost the club more, due to the current and potential ability of the player, with French and Real Madrid legend claiming that he would have taken Hazard into any team with his eyes closed. Setting the club back close to £35 million financially, the club will look to the Belgian as their key playmaker, who will bring a sense of creativity to the top of the midfield, by playing in the pocket of space between the oppositions midfield and defence. From this position he will look to bring out the best in the current misfiring striker Torres, by playing balls behind the defence for Torres to run into, or supporting the Spaniard by getting closer to the box, creating another target in and around the box, much like Gerrard did during Torres’s days at Liverpool. Now permanent manager may look to bring the versatility of the Belgian into play, by operating him in a left wing position to utilise Juan Mata as the central attacking midfielder, however the manager is more likely to play Mata out on the left, to allow the Belgian to express himself however he wishes.

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There is no doubt the midfield ace has bags of talent, and this is shown by his inclusion in the French League’s team of the year for 3 consecutive years, which is a considerable achievement for a player who is only 21 years of age. With Chelsea gaining a bit of a reputation of buying quality players rather than bringing out the potential in players, many football fans will hope that they bring the best out in this gem, who attracted strong interest from both Manchester clubs during the season, yet choosing a club which finished 6^th in the Premier League, but more importantly winning the Champions League that season.

Marko Marin

Marin, often described as the German Messi because of his acceleration, agility and ability to change a game is considered a shrewd signing by many of the Chelsea faithful, costing a figure reported to be just under £10 million. Similar to Hazard, he can operate in the hole behind the striker, but can equally be as effective as a wide midfielder, or a winger. Being considered more versatile out of the two, Di Matteo will look to interchange him and Hazard/Mata throughout the game if they are not having the designated impact on the game. Scoring just the one goal in the Bundesliga last season shows that scoring may not be the best attribute for the midfielder, but he will have been brought in to use his nifty feet and movement to drag players out of position, and to bring other midfielders and attackers into play with his vision and passing ability.

Having signed a five year deal with the London club, Chelsea may have seen the purchase of the 23 year old as a signing for the next few years, and there is a strong possibility that the midfielder may start many games on the bench for Chelsea, with Mata and Hazard being the vocal point for Chelsea’s midfield, but the versatility of the German can only increase his chances of getting game time for the club.

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