Isco

[Jype 6,398]

Better than Mata? What have you guys been smoking, I want some too.

That being said he's still an exceptional talent and I hope he goes to Real Madrid, wouldn't want such a great player to improve an already good Manchester City side.

[Thor 2,392]

I get the hype about Isco because he is young and has loads of potential but to compare him to an established world-class player and definitely one of the top 5 players in the entire PL is a crime. Mata is what Isco hopes to become like in a few years.

Tell me then, if Isco is so much better than Mata, why is he with the U21 NT and not the senior NT instead of Mata?

The Spanish team as a whole is successful exactly due to the way they nurture and bring up their youth players. There is a reason he is in the U21 squad and not straight into the top team. Its the way they do it with all their players.

Look at how the English team tries to pluck from the youth ranks which results in nothing but trouble and talents falling off. Spain have a great mentoring system, that clearly is working since they have been the dominant nation in football for more than half this decade.

And yes, I'm saying that ISCO is in fact level with Mata. Plenty laughed and berated me on here when I stated that Hazard was a better player than Mata prior to coming to Chelsea. Look how that one turned out... Isco isn't as good as Hazard, nor will he ever be IMO, but he certainly is as good as Mata, and hes most definitely a better player than Oscar.

[Waterfall 893]

Plenty laughed and berated me on here when I stated that Hazard was a better player than Mata prior to coming to Chelsea. Look how that one turned out...

Both are fantastic but...

[Moros 86]

Isco looks a good player right now, but so did Royston Drenthe after an u21 tournament.

Drenthe did have the talent to become a good player, but he chose not to by lacking a professional mentality and lifestyle. Only a few are talented enough to get far without a lot of sacrifice and even they can't become really far without it. Note that I do rate Isco's current ability and potential higher as that of Drenthe (when he was the same age) however.

[Thor 2,392]

Both are fantastic but...

That's great and all but if you actually think hes the better player... then... well yeah.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

The Spanish team as a whole is successful exactly due to the way they nurture and bring up their youth players. There is a reason he is in the U21 squad and not straight into the top team. Its the way they do it with all their players.

Look at how the English team tries to pluck from the youth ranks which results in nothing but trouble and talents falling off. Spain have a great mentoring system, that clearly is working since they have been the dominant nation in football for more than half this decade.

And yes, I'm saying that ISCO is in fact level with Mata. Plenty laughed and berated me on here when I stated that Hazard was a better player than Mata prior to coming to Chelsea. Look how that one turned out... Isco isn't as good as Hazard, nor will he ever be IMO, but he certainly is as good as Mata, and hes most definitely a better player than Oscar.

Interesting theory, except all of Fabregas, Pedro, Busquetes, Martinez, and Mata were regulars with the senior NT before the age of 21. The fact is, the current crop of emerging young Spanish players is no where near the previous one in terms of quality. The team that has dominated the world for the past 7 years is not one that is likely to ever be repeated. The reason that there are no U21s with current senior Spanish NT is because they are not nearly good enough to challenge the senior squad.

And Hazard was already the highest rated young talent when we bough him, most of us thought that he could become one of the best in the world. He can certainly become better than Juan in the future, but was he better than Juan this past year? Not a chance.

[Styles 9,790]

I think it's fair to say that Isco having a higher ceiling than Mata isn't a wild claim. I think Mata is as good as he'll ever be now and he's pretty damn good. Isco is a very talented young player and could be immense in 2-4 years time.

[KonohasOrangeFlash 2,607]

That's great and all but if you actually think hes the better player... then... well yeah.

And yes, I'm saying that ISCO is in fact level with Mata. Plenty laughed and berated me on here when I stated that Hazard was a better player than Mata prior to coming to Chelsea. Look how that one turned out... Isco isn't as good as Hazard, nor will he ever be IMO, but he certainly is as good as Mata, and hes most definitely a better player than Oscar.

There are not enough words on this planet to describe your ignorance and stupidity." Look how that turned out"...What? You mean Mata being the best midfielder in the league? One of the best in the world? Our player of the year for the past 2 years? The envy of other teams? Is that what you meaned by that retarded statement? How exactly is Hazard better than Mata at the moment?

There seems to be no point reasoning with someone who has no reason and a deluded and distorted view of football. Isco as good as Mata....LOL. Even the most die hard deluded Citeh fan would not claim such utter, utter nonsense.

[Thor 2,392]

Some of you are so ignorant, rude and act like superior beings as if you are the end all be all of the discussion.

I'd love to hear what makes Mata a better player than Hazard... There isn't a thing he does better aside from crosses. But sure, a club MVP makes him better... He won it last year when Ramires should have gotten it. He can keep winning them for all I care, hes not a better player than Hazard. Just because hes a ball drawn, assist man/second striker who gets to rack up the stats, doesn't make him better than Hazard.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Some of you are so ignorant, rude and act like superior beings as if you are the end all be all of the discussion.

I'd love to hear what makes Mata a better player than Hazard... There isn't a thing he does better aside from crosses. But sure, a club MVP makes him better... He won it last year when Ramires should have gotten it. He can keep winning them for all I care, hes not a better player than Hazard. Just because hes a ball drawn, assist man/second striker who gets to rack up the stats, doesn't make him better than Hazard.

They're different players with different skill sets. Not quite sure what the argument is all about to be honest but it's pretty fucking ridiculous.

Personally I think Isco is good, but offers something slightly different to Mata. I think Mata is fantastically underrated despite being one of the best midfielders in the league. Hazard is far more dynamic and explosive on the ball.

Oscar has the potential to be better than all of them though (including Isco). He could be the heartbeat of this team, as well as his national team, and be a ballon d'or winner.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Isco is a great young talent with plenty of potential. I love the way he's been tearing up Norway's under-21 team.

I also love the way Mata has been tearing up the Premier League for the last two years.

In terms of potential, players very rarely reach the heights they are expected to. Take Wayne Rooney; he is nonetheless a wonderful player, but he is nowhere near the heights many people thought he could reach.

Isco, Mata, and Oscar are all different players. You can tell that from the fact they play in different positions. Isco has a sort of explosive dynamism to his play that Mata doesn't have - it's a trait he shares with players like Ronaldo and Hazard. He has the ability to suddenly surge forward, whereas Mata is a lot more patient in possession of the ball. Mata is the more-rounded of both players by a long, distance, but of course a lot of that will be down to age and experience. But let's not forget, he's only 25, and he is only going to get better.

Oscar is different to both players, and like TOPTB, I think he has the potential to be better than both players. In terms of raw potential and ability, all three are some way behind Hazard, in my opinion. He has absolutely everything. In three-four years' time, I genuinely think people could be talking about Hazard in a similar way to how they talk about Ronaldo right now. Ronaldo was 22 in the 06/07 season - otherwise known as when he single-handedly won United the title. Hazard isn't at that level yet, but CR7 had been in England for two years already by that stage. Give him time, and he could be just as good.

The fact is, all four players offer something very different.

What's great is we own three of them.

[3sphinx 18]

There are not enough words on this planet to describe your ignorance and stupidity." Look how that turned out"...What? You mean Mata being the best midfielder in the league? One of the best in the world? Our player of the year for the past 2 years? The envy of other teams? Is that what you meaned by that retarded statement? How exactly is Hazard better than Mata at the moment?

There seems to be no point reasoning with someone who has no reason and a deluded and distorted view of football. Isco as good as Mata....LOL. Even the most die hard deluded Citeh fan would not claim such utter, utter nonsense.

Why can't other people have a different opinion to you? Why do you find the need to ridicule, laugh and insult others for not having YOUR particular view. I find it no small miracle that you have not been banned despite your overt aggressiveness. And this is even though I agree that Mata is currently the superior midfielder.

[Special Juan 27,424]

Very confident about this one. I've just pre-ordered the new shirt with Isco 22 on!

[haranr 485]

Better than Mata? What have you guys been smoking, I want some too.

That being said he's still an exceptional talent and I hope he goes to Real Madrid, wouldn't want such a great player to improve an already good Manchester City side.

I LOVE MATA! but if you don't see that Isco is more talented something is wrong. Surley going to be a better player than Mata. Believe me that I dont like saying that but that's the truth like Hazard is more talented than Mata although right now Mata is better, correct but Isco will pass him soon.

[haranr 485]

Nobody here is real objective.

[haranr 485]

Mata has achived more than Hazard but everyone can see that Hazard is a better player, much more skill.

[The only place to be 11,313]

I LOVE MATA! but if you don't see that Isco is more talented something is wrong. Surley going to be a better player than Mata. Believe me that I dont like saying that but that's the truth like Hazard is more talented than Mata although right now Mata is better, correct but Isco will pass him soon.

You're talking about two players who bring different things to their respective games. Saying one is better because he's more 'talented' when their talents are different is a little bit broad.

[Mouri_Matic 560]

Mata has achived more than Hazard but everyone can see that Hazard is a better player, much more skill.

You just basically sum it up. I completely agree, most people on here will kill you if you even say anything remotely bad about one of our best player. And we are Chelsea fans altogether so we are giving honest judgement here, it is not like we sign up on here to troll or insult our own players.