5 potential replacements for Eden Hazard at Chelsea

#1 Paulo Dybala (Juventus & Argentina)

Dybala would be an upgrade to Hazard in terms of technique & goalscoring

Estimated Fee: €200m

For a very long time, Argentine football has been searching for the natural successor to Diego Maradona. Pablo Aimar, Ariel Ortega and so many diminutive, technical players suffered under the burden of being compared to Armando until the arrival of Leo Messi on the stage.

Now, the Albiceleste may have already found the successor to Leo, even before the maestro retires, in Paulo Dybala.

La Joya (The Jewel) as Dybala is popularly called has emerged as the most important player for La Vecchia Signora (The Old Lady) even more than record signing Gonzalo Higuain.

The left-footed baby-faced assassin may not have the explosive pace of Messi or Hazard but he has been blessed with a sweet left foot combined with superb finishing and a brain that sees things 10 seconds quicker than other players on the pitch.

Dybala has settled into his role in a star-studded Juve team with aplomb and his performances have helped to negate any feelings of loss occasioned by the departures of Carlos Tevez and Paul Pogba.

A roving striker rather than a false nine or a playmaker, Dybala will come into Chelsea with a strong work ethic and the kind of talent that the Stamford Bridge faithful would have seen from only two players in the last 30 years; Gianfranco Zola and Hazard himself.

His Juventino affiliation would mean manager Conte will be well aware of what he will bring to the team and his arrival will be the biggest signal that Chelsea truly want to join and stay in the upper echelon of club football, a closed community of the crème de la crème that the Blues have occasionally flirted with but never really fit into.