New Blues sensation Eden Hazard claims that he was desperate to wear the No.10 shirt following his summer switch from Lille. The Belgium international says he wanted to wear the jersey due to the fact that his idol, Zinedine Zidane, also wore the number during his illustrious playing career.

Hazard received one of the biggest compliments possible after Frenchman Zidane revealed that he was a huge fan of the 21-year-old. Following on from those comments, the forward has repaid the compliments by stating that his main wish was to take the No.10 shirt when he completed his move to Stamford Bridge in the summer.

Speaking to Champions Matchday magazine, Hazard said, “I’ve always liked the number 10, because it is one of Zidane. He was my role model, I’ve always wanted to play like him. When he started talking about me, I didn’t understand what was happening any more. But he must have said that about other players, so I knew I had to keep on working.”

Of course, with Juan Mata already playing under that shirt, there was little chance that he was going to be replaced by Roberto Di Matteo’s new signing. However, even though he failed to get his preferred choice, he has still managed to become a revelation in his No.17 jersey. Despite arriving at Stamford Bridge as a player with a supposedly petulant reputation, the youngster has already proved to be a revelation and could become a key player as the Blues make a charge for the title this season.

With the player representing his country in games against Wales and Croatia over the past week, Blues fans will be hoping that he returns to Stamford Bridge completely fresh as he bids to add to his one goal that he currently has for the club.