Premier League coach wants to take ex-Chelsea star Eden Hazard on trial

Recently, Chelsea legend Eden Hazard officially announced his retirement from professional football aged 32 on Monday. Despite this, West Ham United first-team coach Kevin Nolan has said he would be ‘willing to’ offer him a trial.

While Nolan’s suggestion seems to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek, he believes there is a possibility that the Hammers could coax the Belgian out of retirement. He noted Paul Scholes as a previous example of a player who announced they would be retiring, only to then continue playing soon after.

Hazard joined Chelsea in 2012 for a fee of £32 million. He then went on to score 85 league goals for the club, winning two Premier Leagues, two Europa Leagues, the FA Cup and the League Cup along the way.

What did Kevin Nolan say about bringing Eden Hazard to West Ham?

Speaking on TalkSPORT Drive, Nolan mused: “I’d have the [Eden] Hazard of Chelsea at West Ham, yeah. I’m sure if he wanted to come and trial we’d, I mean, I’d certainly be willing to.

“I don’t know about the gaffer [David Moyes]. But I’d certainly want to trial him! It’s sad that at 32 he’s decided to bow out in all honesty because I believe someone of his calibre of play could play at the top level for plenty more years.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a little bit of a reverse on that in the next six months to a year.”

Would Eden Hazard be a good signing for West Ham?

While the prospect of seeing Hazard in a Claret kit is certainly enticing, one must first consider Hazard’s achievements over the past few years. He made just ten appearances in all competitions during the 2022/23 season, scoring a single goal - in the season prior to this, he played 23 times, but likewise could only muster one goal.

In his prime, Eden Hazard was one of the most dangerous attacking players in Premier League history. Sadly, along with his motivation for the beautiful game, it seems that these days are long gone.