Eden Hazard is looking forward to playing under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, but the Belgian starlet admits that the prospect “intimidates” him.
The Blues secured a coup when they signed Hazard from Lille. Real Madrid had also wanted him after Zinedine Zidane gave him a ringing endorsement, and Mourinho will now get the chance to manage Hazard after all.
£32 million man Hazard is now infused with nervous excitement ahead of his first season under arguably the best manager in contemporary football.
"They already knew for a long time at Chelsea that he was going to sign and they all told me that it would be a good thing for me," Hazard said from Belgium’s World Cup qualifying base.
"Jose Mourinho is someone special and it's a pleasure to have him as a coach.
"Maybe in the first training session I will be a bit intimidated – after all, it's Jose Mourinho. But he is also a man, with two arms and two legs and so, in the end, I will have a normal relationship with him, just as I have with my previous coaches."
Meanwhile, Hazard is satisfied with his first season at Stamford Bridge, after scoring 13 goals in all competitions and contributing to many more.
But he is often touted as one of European club football’s most promising attacking talents, and to that end, he admits that he needs to be more ruthless and score more goals to attain the levels expected of him.
"This season I gave a lot of assists but next season I want to score more goals … I want to score 50 or 60 like [Lionel] Messi or [Cristiano] Ronaldo," Hazard said.
"I lack that killer instinct. Messi and Ronaldo are born to score, it's in their nature but I still choose the nice dribble or the beautiful pass too often. I have to shoot more."