Eden Hazard picks De Bruyne and Nainggolan as Belgium teammates he wants most at Chelsea
KEY POINTS
- De Bruyne left Chelsea in 2014 and has since become one of the best players in England.
- Antonio Conte has made at least one attempt to bring Nainggolan to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea star Eden Hazard has picked Kevin de Bruyne and AS Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan as the international teammates he would most like to see join him at Stamford Bridge.
Hazard and De Bruyne briefly played together in west London in 2013 before the latter left Stamford Bridge to join Bundesliga side Wolfsburg. He returned to the Premier League just 18 months later, joining Manchester City for a reported fee of £55m [BBC Sport] where he has since become perhaps the best player in the English top flight.
Sitting down with Copa90, Hazard was asked which of his Belgium teammates he would most like to link up with at club level, responding with: "Kevin de Bruyne."
But when reminded the former Genk starlet has already had a spell at Chelsea, he was pushed another option. "Go on, I'll give another one – Radja Naingollan. He is good, he is good."
Nainggolan has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge since Antonio Conte's arrival at the club in the summer of 2016. In March 2017, the powerful midfielder revealed he had held talks with the Chelsea boss over the move, telling Sky Sports News: "They were really interested and wanted me over there. That is all I can say."
The Belgium international was again linked with a move to the Premier League during last summer's transfer window, with Manchester United also credited with firm interest, as reported by Gazzetta dello Sport.
Conte later confirmed his side's interest ahead of a Champions League group stage meeting with Roma, labelling the 29-year-old one of the best midfielders in the world.
"In the past, we tried to buy him but now Nainggolan is Roma's player and I have great respect for him, great respect for Roma and great respect for my players," Conte said, via The Daily Telegraph. "It is not right to speak about him. He is a really good player, for me one of the best midfielders, but he is an opponent."
