Eden Hazard has been hailed as a successor to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player in world football, according to Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness.

The Belgium international once again delivered a fantastic display on Saturday against Newcastle, registering nine attempts on goal, six of which were on target – the most by a Premier League player this season.

Many would agree he is already the greatest player in the Premier League, and Sky Sports pundit Souness leads the crowd in terms of praising the forward – saying he is in no doubt that Hazard could follow in the footsteps of Messi and Ronaldo.

“When you think of the players who can take the mantle from the two top players at the moment – Messi and Ronaldo – Hazard comes into that category. He is that good,” Souness said.

“His best years are ahead of him. My only criticism of him is that sometimes he’s not bang at it, but when he is in the mood he was today he is unplayable.

“The truly great players become unplayable, and when he is at it he certainly is great.

“You can set all the bear traps and obstacles for him but, like all the great players, he finds a solution to what’s put in front of him.

“He’s among a handful of players who you can say are unplayable on their day.”
[Quotes via Sky Sports]