Aaron Wan-Bissaka believes Chelsea’s Eden Hazard is the “toughest” opponent he has faced so far in his career but revealed he enjoys playing against him as he learns from playing against “one of the best.”
The full-back has established himself as one of the emerging defenders in the league following his breakthrough during last season and has since made 35 appearances as Palace’s first choice right-back.
And following his emergence, Wan-Bissaka has revealed Hazard is the best player he has played against during his short career, according to Squawka.
He [Hazard] was the toughest. He’s just busy. I’m not saying I can’t read him, but he does so much on the ball, and off it too.
He doesn’t just get it and pass it on. He always does something: maybe not directly against me, but something that affects me somehow, dragging me out of position, freeing someone else up to run at me. He’s so clever, one of the best. At the same time, those are the situations you learn most from.
The youngster also revealed how training against the likes of Wilfried Zaha, who scored Palace’s equaliser in the 1-1 draw with West Ham on Saturday, and Yannick Bolasie aided his development.
Training up against Wilf and Yannick Bolasie toughened me up. As an ex-winger, you get a sense of what they’re trying to do: which way they might go, how they’re thinking. You can anticipate things easier. When Roy Hodgson changed my timetable to full-time with the first team, I knew I was making progress even if I still never played.
