Chelsea

Eden Hazard not ready to take over as permanent Chelsea captain

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 25 April 2017

Eden Hazard does not believe that he has the right attributes to succeed John Terry as Chelsea captain next season, despite skippering national side Belgium in the past.

Chelsea forward Eden Hazard has effectively ruled himself out of the running to become the club's new permanent captain, claiming that it should go to a more vocal player.

The Belgium international, who has experience of captaining his country in the past, has led from the front for the Blues this season by playing a part in 19 goals in the Premier League.

With current long-serving skipper John Terry about to call it a day at Stamford Bridge, Hazard is now one of the longest-serving players at the club, but he does not believe that he is the right man to take over the armband.

"I think we have some players who can be more than a captain in this team," he told Sky Sports News. "When I talk to you at the national team, I don't know if I am a good captain, but I am a captain on the pitch.

"Off the pitch I don't like to talk a lot, in England I think the captain has to talk and make people ready for the games. I am not this kind of guy, I can talk with my feet but it's not my job to talk to everyone.

"I think JT does this, Gary [Cahill], [Cesar] Azpilicueta and even Cesc [Fabregas]. They deserve to be captain."

Hazard, a Chelsea player since 2012, was dropped to the bench for Saturday's FA Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur but is expected to start against Southampton on Tuesday after impressing from the bench.