Barkley Set To Fill Hazard’s Shoes At Chelsea
Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley has insisted he is ready to fill the void left by departed teammate Eden Hazard at the Stamford Bridge.
After seven successful years at Chelsea, Hazard completed his dream move to Real Madrid for a reported £88 million fee, which could rise to £150 million due to add-ons.
Since arriving at Chelsea, the 28-year-old established himself as the most important asset of the club for the number of years he has been there.
With his departure leaving a gap in the Chelsea squad for the upcoming season, Barkley believes he can step in and deliver as it was done by the Belgian forward for the Londoners.
“Yes. You have to fill in.
“Everyone in the squad understands that he was a great player, but he is gone. He has new challenges now and we have to replace his goals and create the chances.
"We have that much quality in the squad we will all step up to the plate.
“Am I ready to take that responsibility? Yes of course. Last season when Eden wasn’t playing we still won games, we still created chances.
“We know he is an exceptional player, but we have exceptional players in the squad. We have young ones that will step up and produce the goods as well.
“We have Callum (Hudson-Odoi) coming back from injury and we have signed Christian Pulisic (in January), he is an exceptional talent.
"We have wingers who can create from tight positions, players who can shoot from distance and strikers – young and experienced – who are hungry for goals.”
