Wilshere: Real Madrid star ‘would love’ playing for Howe at Newcastle

Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has claimed that Real Madrid star Eden Hazard “would love” to play for Newcastle United’s new boss Eddie Howe.

Hazard spent seven years in the Premier League at Chelsea between 2012 and 2019. He was consistently seen as one of the best players in England during his time at the club.

The winger won the club’s Player of the Year award four times before he joined Real Madrid. The fee for Hazard could potentially rise to around £125m including add-ons.

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Hazard has struggled with injuries since his move to Real Madrid. He has only been able to play 40 times in La Liga since the start of the 2019/20 campaign.

Newcastle United’s Saudi-led takeover was completed last month and they have been linked with Hazard.

Wilshere played under Howe at Bournemouth. He has told talkSPORT that Hazard would love playing for Newcastle’s new boss:

“He was great with me [at Bournemouth], because it was tough for me there because I was coming from a big club,” Wilshere said.

“I stepped into a group that had been together since they were in League One, they were all friends. They were all great with me, but Eddie made sure they were. He was great with me.

“Eden Hazard is another level, but I think Eden would love playing for a manager like Eddie Howe [at Newcastle]. He’s the type of manager you want to play for.

“I worked with him at a club that I see now are quite similar to Newcastle – not in terms of the size of the club, but in terms of the players,’ the ex-England international said.

“Newcastle have got a few ex-Bournemouth players and that is what Eddie does, he gets the best out of those types of players, gets them going and he gets the fans on side.

“He’s a great manager. I think he deserves a chance. If he goes in and does really well, in a few years they could be pushing the top six, which I think he can do.

“When I played under him at Bournemouth we arguably had a worse squad and we finished ninth, so he can definitely do that.

“It’s down to him when he gets that chance to take them to the next level.”