“In one year we will not speak of
Eden Hazard ... We will have another name in our mouth: Belhanda,” the owner of Montpellier boasted in the summer.
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| Younes Belhanda |
These words have proven to be rather prophetic. Although Hazard’s is a name that is not going to go away, Belhanda has shown over the course of the campaign that his is also worth putting in lights.
Inevitably, Nicollin has done as much, explaining: “Belhanda has two of Hazard in his legs.”
Though he is not yet, as his president would suggest, twice the player of Hazard, the midfielder is a 22-year-old of massive potential. A glorious passer of the ball, he has a multi-faceted offensive game that should be the envy of many, yet he remains a relatively undiscovered talent.
The most eye-catching aspect of Belhanda’s play is his excellent technique. Even in crowded areas of the field, he is able to maintain control of the ball, with his quick feet taking him gracefully past players, although he does not have the raw pace that allows him the versatility to play easily in a wider role.
If he is not quite as comfortable on the wing as Hazard, he can match the Belgian prodigy in the excellence of his set-pieces, while there are a couple of aspects of his game in which he could be argued to surpass the Lille star.
Most notable is that he has the natural finishing instinct that Hazard has only just started to master. Belhanda is in a particularly rich vein of form at present, scoring three times in three games since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, including a headed goal against PSG last weekend. In total, he boasts seven league goals for the campaign, and, although that is an inferior tally to Hazard’s nine, their minutes-per-goal ratios are very similar, the African scoring on average only every four minutes after a player who is less than two months his senior.
While Hazard is the real focus of Lille’s attack, though, Belhanda is a support player in Montpellier’s. Olivier Giroud, Ligue 1’s top scorer with 16 goals, in MHSC’s key man in this regard.
Perhaps the most impressive feature of his play, though, is his patience on the ball. Rarely does the Morocco international become flustered in possession, showing a mature and intelligent head as he waits until the perfect moment before releasing his past. Already he is one of the best in Ligue 1 at this skill, often feeding balls into the channels for the wide players to centre.
Few neutrals would argue that Belhanda is yet at the standard of Hazard, but there can be little doubt that the gap on the pair is closing, and Europe’s top clubs are becoming increasingly aware of that fact.
France have already rued being too slow to snap up the young Morocco-international playmaker, who nervously laughed off questions posed to him on the matter following his dazzling display at the Parc des Princes last Sunday.
Barcelona will not want to make the same error, and they will no doubt be keeping a close eye on the player’s progress over the coming weeks.
