Hazard defends Carrasco switch

Carrasco left Atletico Madrid with his fellow teammate Nicolas Gaitan at the end of February to join Dalian Yifang. It was estimated that the combined transfer fee totalled £42million.

With Belgium coach Roberto Martinez certainly not short on talent to select from including Hazard, Dries Mertens and Kevin De Bruyne, many fans have speculated that the 24-year-old has ruined his chances of selection for the Belgian national team. 

Hazard however disagrees with the speculation, telling Belgian newspaper 'La Derniere Heure' that he believes Carrasco made a tough decision but ''it's better to have time playing in China than to be on the bench in La Liga'' 

Given that Carrasco was restricted to substitute appearances and started in only five of seventeen games, lack of playing time was a major concern for the winger. His decision to move to the CSL looked promising in terms of time on the pitch. However, in his first appearance for Dalian Yifang, the club suffered a humiliating 8-0 defeat to Shanghai SIPG. 

Hazard also brought up Axel Witsel who ''has been playing there for a few months and he is still in [the Belgian team]. I think the same will happen with Yannick.'' Witsel favoured Tianjin Quanjian of the Chinese Super League over offers from European clubs and has managed to retain his place in the Belgian team. The defining difference between the two is that Tianjin Quanjian are currently sitting in second position whilst Dalian Yifang are at the bottom of the league.

The Chelsea playmaker defended Carrasco and dismissed speculation that his move to the CSL will ruin his game and chances of playing for Belgium in Russia. ''The World Cup starts in three months and you don't lose your football level in that short time. There is no problem with his transfer. We are going to the World Cup to go far and the winter transfer market does not change our plans.''