The Blues winger thinks the Argentine will provide more attacking firepower and suggested he could have a similar impact to Diego Costa
Eden Hazard has expressed his delight at Chelsea's decision to sign Gonzalo Higuain and has backed the Argentine to score plenty of goals for the club.
The Blues completed the loan signing of the Argentine after agreeing to take over AC Milan's temporary deal for the Juventus forward, with Higuain joining until the end of the season but with the option to buy.
The 31-year-old wasn't registered in time to play against Tottenham on Thursday, with Maurizio Sarri's side having recorded a 4-2 penalty shootout win to advance to the Carabao Cup final.
Higuain is, however, available to face Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup on Sunday and Hazard believes that, with Alvaro Morata leaving to join Atletico Madrid and Oliver Giroud having struggled to consistently find the net, the Argentina international is a useful addition.
"For me as a winger, I like to play with top, top players," he told reporters at Stamford Bridge. "With Chelsea I had the chance to play with one of the best, Diego Costa, for three years, and I think Higuain is one of the best.
"I also like to play when Olivier [Giroud] is playing, when Alvaro [Morata] was playing. My position is more winger than No.9, so I just try to have fun with the striker and the other winger. When the striker is there it’s good for me.
"For my position, yes. We all know I like to play the give-and-go with my striker, so if the striker just goes deep I’m going to be in trouble! Giroud understands this and that’s why I like to play with him, and I think Higuain is going to do the same.
"He’s a fantastic striker, when you see his career he scored a lot of goals everywhere - Madrid, Napoli, Juventus. He always scored goals and he’s going to do the same here. This season we are playing good, but sometimes we just miss one guy to score one goal.
"We had a couple of games where we played well but didn’t score, and at the end we finished with zero goals [despite] creating chances. I think in games sometimes we have a lot of chances. Like today, if we have a striker who can score three goals, the game finishes 5-1.
"At the moment it’s not the case but Higuain can do that. He’s a top striker who can score everywhere. I think when Olivier is playing he tries to do his best for the team. He’s more like a team player than just a striker. Diego was sometimes not this kind of player where you play a one-two but in the box he was amazing.
"He’d just score one goal and in the end if you won, you have three points. That’s what we need. I think Higuain is this kind of player. He can link with the wingers and midfield but he can also be the proper striker."
Sarri had claimed prior to Chelsea's win over Spurs that his players were "extremely difficult to motivate", although Hazard, who faced particular criticism from his manager, insists he's just focusing on playing well for the club.
"In the dressing room, most of the players have won almost everything," he added. "We are big players and we know when we are not playing well and when we are playing good. In the end, we just need to look in the same way and try to win games. That’s it.
"My reaction is to be on the pitch and try to do my best. Managers talked about me in the past, this manager talked about me, the next manager is going to talk about me, so my target is just to play football. I don’t care what people think.
"I just want to do my best and today [against Tottenham] I did. I understand when the team is not playing well, the manager has to criticise the players. I don’t like to say 'I’m the best player', but it’s always this kind of player who can put the team [in a position to] win the game [who get criticised].
"I just try to do my best. I’m not focused on what the manager says. I don’t care about that to be fair. If the manager has to say something he will say it. We are big men so we can talk together, no problem at all. I look to the future and I will do my best again.
"We didn’t talk about that [Sarri's public comments after Arsenal]. I don’t have a problem with it at all. The manager thinks what they want to think. For me, the best response is to be on the pitch and to win games. I did it."
mulije
118
Am pretty sure Hazard is happy because his role as false no.9 has ended... that's why he's praising Higuain...😂
clgwsjustin
93
tropicalda
67
gilani: Why Higuain will succeed at Chelsea: * He doesn't score only headers like... * chelsea build up will make him drop inside to see a lot of the ball, no isolation. * Pipita is someone who shoots from any angle. * A specialist in outside the box goals. * A killer in the box
chidesco1
63
With luiz at the back(throwing forward long diagonal balls), Jorginho at the centre(dictating the game tempo), hazard on the left wing(doing what hazard does best), and higuain at the centre(banging in all the goals), sarri-ball's chelsea will be at their mesmerizing best. I feel for their opponents.
EminenceBASIT
62
This is the first time Hazard is gonna compliment on striker
Abbawaziri
61
It’s really good to see our best player(EH10) excited about playing with Higuain and we hope it works to a success which am positive they will.
tasbckmprt
48