‘What’s happened to him?’: TalkSPORT pundit can’t believe how bad reported Newcastle target was in Qatar

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Eden Hazard might be linked with a move to Newcastle United but his performances for Belgium this winter left a lot to be desired.

The former Chelsea midfielder has had a nightmare time of things since moving to Real Madrid. Fitness and injury issues have held Hazard back and he’s far from the player he was while at Stamford Bridge.

For Belgium’s must-win game against Croatia yesterday, Roberto Martinez even left Hazard out of the starting XI. He did eventually come on but could do little but watch on as Romelu Lukaku missed a host of chances.

And speaking about Hazard’s performances this morning, former Arsenal midfielder Ray Parlour believes a Jose Mourinho opinion on Hazard has come true.

“Hazard, what’s happened to Hazard? I don’t know what’s happened to him. It’s interesting, Jose Mourinho – we had Mourinho on here – said Eden Hazard could have been one of the best in the world. But his application, his work rate, his training, he didn’t put it in every day in training. If he did, he could have been up there with the best,” Parlour explained on TalkSPORT.

Hazard shone while at Chelsea before moving to Real for huge money. Indeed, Joe Cole even said during this World Cup that Hazard was the best he’d played with.

TBR’s View: Newcastle should steer clear of Eden Hazard

Sometimes, a player just reaches the end of his shelf life, and it appears to have happened with Hazard.

For all his brilliance with Chelsea, he has been a shadow of that player for so long now. Sure, he’s had a few injury problems which can’t always be helped. But Parlour’s comments on what Mourinho said ring true as well and it’s obvious why he’s never got back fully fit.

There might be underlying reasons behind all this for Hazard. However, when it comes to Newcastle, this is a transfer deal that needs to be avoided.