Hazard offered trial by Premier League club mere days after retirement
Tom Weber
- Updated: 12 Oct 2023 14:33 BST
- 3 min read
West Ham assistant manager Kevin Nolan has offered recently retired Eden Hazard a trial at his Premier League club.
The Belgian winger called it quits on an illustrious career earlier in the week after several months of free agency off the back of his release by Real Madrid. Hazard's time in Spain was plagued by injuries, an issue he hinted at in his Instagram announcement, writing "you must listen to yourself and say stop at the right time."
Los Blancos paid an eye-watering €115 million to sign the Belgian in 2019 after Hazard had consistently been one of the Premier League's best players at Chelsea. After leaving Madrid, he reportedly rejected several offers in favour of spending time with his family and, ultimately, retiring at the age of 32.
READ: 'We don’t want Chelsea’s incompetence' - Strasbourg fans SLAM Boehly’s transfer policy
Kevin Nolan, a former Premier League opponent of his and current assistant manager at West Ham, believes that we have not yet heard the last of Hazard as a footballer and he even offered to sign him for the Hammers.
What did Nolan say?
Speaking on talkSPORT, Nolan said: "I'd have the Hazard of Chelsea at West Ham, yeah. I'm sure if he wanted to come and trial we'd, I mean, I'd certainly be willing to. I don't know about the gaffer [David Moyes], but I'd certainly want to trial him!"
"Some of the best years in the Premier League, he's been part of and some of the best goals. It's sad that at 32 he's decided to bow out in all honesty because I believe someone of his calibre of play could play at the top level for plenty more years."
EXCLUSIVE: West Ham eye former Man Utd keeper David de Gea
"I wouldn't be surprised if we got a little bit of a reverse on that in the next six months to a year...There's been so many times, I remember when [Paul] Scholes done it. Then he got a phone call from Sir Alex [Ferguson] and he was like 'oh yeah, I will come back.'"
"I just think something like that could happen with Hazard because someone is probably willing to give him the opportunity to say 'go on, come in and play for us for six months.'"
