Zidane craves the 25 goals & assists per season that Pogba and Hazard guarantee

Zinedine Zidane's desire to land both Eden Hazard and Paul Pogba stems from Real Madrid's struggle to create and score goals, and the pair have proven over the years that they provide both of those in abundance.

Since the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer, Los Blancos have had to rely on the goals of Karim Benzema this campaign, with very little contribution from the rest of the team.

The need for more firepower has not been kept a secret by Zidane, who has, on various occasions, spoken in no uncertain terms about this issue.

"We need to increase our attacking strength," Zidane said in a recent press conference.

That is why Zidane has made clear his intention of signing both Pogba and Hazard.

The Premier League duo guarantee goals and assists and, after the disappointing season that Madrid have endured, there is no time to wait in hope that the armoury will come from some of their current under-performers.

The fact is that Pogba and Hazard have managed at least 25 goals and 25 assists between them in each of the last seven seasons.

At Chelsea, Hazard has scored a whopping 108 goals in the last seven campaigns, while also providing 88 assists.

Isco, a player with a similar profile to the Belgian, has managed 48 goals fewer in that time.

Hazard's average stands at 15.4 goals and 12.5 assists per season which is just what Real Madrid are crying out for.

While Pogba is less prolific due to his less advanced role, he has managed 65 goals which equates to almost ten per season.

In five seasons, Toni Kroos has managed 13 goals while Luka Modric has grabbed 17 in seven campaigns.

In terms of assists, the Frenchman has averaged 10.2 per season in the last seven years, a better tally than Kroos (11.7) and Modric (6).

The departure of Ronaldo means that the share of the goals have to be spread more evenly across the team and, after a season which has shown that the current squad is not capable of rising to the challenge, Zidane's case for Hazard and Pogba grows even stronger.