Why it Should Work
Like a Belgian waffle and ice cream, or Belgian chocolate seashells (Guylian, preferably) and myself, Eden Hazard and Chelsea should be a perfect match.
Indeed, Eden Hazard, in theory, would be well suited to any club, in any league. The plaudits heaped on him are innumerable, the praise has - at times - bordered on hyperbole but ultimately it has all been justified.
He netted 20 goals for Lille this season, and also added 16 assists - only Lionel Messi had more of the latter. He has won the French Player of the Year award for two seasons in a row. The two seasons before that, he won the Young Player award.
He's young, quick, talented and exciting. In short, he's everything Chelsea were not last season. However, this deal not only benefits them.
Obviously he's going to be paid a lot of money, with reports of a £170,000 per week wage being circulated, but - given he had the option of going to either Manchester club - this clearly isn't a move motivated by money.
As mentioned, Chelsea looked an ageing side last year - but they still managed to win the Champions League. Bringing in the likes of Hazard and German winger Marko Marin can only make them stronger, and they'll surely be challenging for honours next season.
Also, Hazard has stated that he wants to be a regular first team player and, furthermore, regularly playing in a central, 'number 10' role. At Manchester United, he would certainly be playing, but the freedom given to Wayne Rooney, and Sir Alex Ferguson's love of width, means he'd be used more as a winger. At Manchester City, meanwhile, he would not even be guaranteed to play week in, week out, given the galaxy of stars at their disposal. Chelsea can offer him both.
He can also join, and lead, the Belgian revolution that seems ready to sweep Stamford Bridge. He joins Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in Southwest London, although he may be the only one there next season.
Critics may point to the fact that he's been playing in France, and that the Premier League is far superior. While that point of view is understandable, the following are just a few of the names to have made the same journey: Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Florent Malouda, Michael Essien - and that's just the ones to have signed for Chelsea. There's also Robert Pires, Patrice Evra and many more. Not bad, eh?
Why it May Not Work
His ego, for starters. He's announced, at various points in his career, that he would like to sign for every club from Manchester to Milan, and kept people guessing which club he would be joining for so long that the hashtag #beforehazarddecides was trending on Twitter. The return of Jesus and the end of the DFS sale were just two of the offerings.
He's clearly a player aware of his ability, and it will be interesting to see how he fits into a dressing room that is largely dominated by the likes of John Terry and his second-in-command Frank Lampard.
While he's very self-assured, there's always the chance that the hefty price tag - the transfer fee is estimated to be around £35m - and the expectations it brings could weigh heavily on his shoulders. One only has to look at Andriy Shevchenko for an example of an expensive flop at Chelsea, and he was far more experienced than Hazard.
A lot of that could depend on how quickly he settles to life in London. As previously stated, plenty have made the switch from France to England very successfully, but a lot of the time it wasn't instant. He needs to be given time to adapt, and we may not see the best of him until his second season. He's one for the future, as well as right now.
He kept us waiting to see which club he'd join, and now we're going to have to wait a bit longer to see him in action. I hope he's worth it, and suspect he will be.