Hazard excited by Conte philosophy

Eden Hazard is excited by Chelsea’s change in approach under new head coach Antonio Conte.

Belgian winger Hazard was voted PFA Player of the Year as Chelsea won the Premier League title in 2014-15, but his form dramatically dipped in their woeful championship defence last term as he failed to net a top-flight goal until April.

Former Italy boss Conte has since been appointed as the permanent successor to Jose Mourinho, removed last December and replaced on an interim basis by Guus Hiddink.

Hazard is enjoying getting to grips with the philosophy of the new boss and is relishing a fresh start this season.

“It’s a new season, a fresh start, a new manager and a couple of new players,” he told Chelsea’s official website.

“We have all been working together for a few weeks now and the new manager has a new philosophy and he wants to play a different style.

“That’s always good, and now we will see how it goes.”

Chelsea begin their Premier League campaign with the visit of West Ham on Monday, and the Belgian hopes a positive result can provide the foundation for an improved season.

“I like to play against West Ham because it’s important for the fans as well, it’s always like this when we play against another London team,” said Hazard.

“We will see how the first game of the season goes, but I hope we can be much better than last season.”

Ahead of Monday’s kick-off, Chelsea announced Izzy Brown has joined Championship side Rotherham United on a season-long loan.