Eden Hazard, Luis Suarez and five other former Premier League stars who could soon return

Michael Graham
25 January 2022

Eden Hazard, Luis Suarez, and Aaron Ramsey

English clubs always appear to be happy to spend, and there are plenty of former Premier League stars who may be available for a return if the money is right.

This season has been a veritable goldmine for fans of former Premier League stars returning for another crack at English football.

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United from Juventus in the summer, and this month Kieran Tripper (Newcastle) and Philippe Coutinho (Aston Villa) have moved back to the Premier League from abroad too.

Let's have a look at a few other Premier League old-timers who could be primed to come back very soon.

Eden Hazard

It has not gone at all well for Eden Hazard since he got his dream move to Real Madrid.

The Belgian was one of the Premier League's top performers for years at Chelsea, although his product was on the decline when Madrid finally made their move.

He has since struggled for consistency - and game-time - in Spain, which hasn't been helped by a persistent ankle injury.

Hazard didn't help himself when he was seen laughing and joking with Chelsea players after his former club dumped Real Madrid out of the Champions League last season, with the Spanish media particularly going after him.

"Two years of taking the p*** out of Real Madrid fans... two years of being overweight... just another Gareth Bale," one presenter raged.

Hazard's time at Real Madrid can only really be described as an enomrous failure. He has managed just 61 games for the club and has only scored six times. For a man that cost more than €100million, that's just nowhere near good enough.

He has been linked with a moved back to the Premier League, but Newcastle are reportedly "not an option" for Hazard as he "will only move to a big club". Ouch. Either way, the Belgian is a man who desperately needs a fresh start.

Aaron Ramsey

Aaron Ramsey is another player to be linked with Newcastle, and on the surface they would look to have a much better chance of bringing him back to the Premier League than they do with Hazard.

The Welshman ended a long affiliation with Arsenal in 2019 by signing a mega-money deal with Juventus following the expiration of his Gunners contract.

He has done okay in Serie A too, winning the Scudetto in his first season at the club.

The truth is, though, Ramsey has never been able to establish himself as a regular for Juventus.

He started just 14 games in his first season in Turin and 19 the following campaign.

This season, Ramsey has started just one game for Juventus, and that came in their opener back in August.

During Ramsey's time at Juventus they have seen their Serie A dominance evaporate and are eyeing a rebuild and there appears to be little room for for former Arsenal man in that.

He has been linked with Newcastle, Crystal Palace and, weirdly, Burnley, and someone is going to get a real bargain.

Gareth Bale

Once upon a time, Gareth Bale was the most coveted player in the world. He had become a true force of nature at Tottenham and it was no surprise when Real Madrid came calling.

Bale's time in Madrid has, though, been odd. In seven seasons in the Spanish capital he has picked up four Champions League winners medals and two La Liga titles, as well as a plethora of other honours.

However, he has never seemed particularly loved by the fans, and he has made things harder for himself. When on Wales duty, he celebrated qualifying for Euro 2020 by holding up a banner saying "Wales, Golf, Real Madrid - in that order," and it caused understandable anger.

The problem wasn't that he held the banner, but that it was accurate. Rumours of Bale quitting football to pursue a golf career have persisted.

It would be wrong, though, to dismiss Bale's time at Real Madrid as a slow-burning personal failure.

For a start, how many players get to play over 250 games for Real Madrid? They are not a club who tend to carry anyone and that Bale has amassed such a number is testament to his product.

His 106 goals for Los Blancos puts him 17th on their all-time goalscorers list too, and his goals-per-game ratio (0.42) is almost exactly the same as that of Raul (0.44).

He has already come back to the Premier League once when he joined former club Tottenham on loan for a season. It remains to be seen whether he still retains sufficient love for football to do it again.

Luis Suarez

You would struggle to name a foreign player who made a bigger impact in the Premier League than Luis Suarez.

The Uruguayan was as controversial as he was brilliant as he spearheaded Liverpool's ill-fated Premier League title bid under Brendan Rodgers.

While there were brilliant goals and prolific goalscoring (82 goals in 133 games, no less), there was also alleged racism and actual biting of opponents. It was rarely dull.

Following a £65million move to Barcelona, helped no doubt by playing with the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar, Suarez became even more prolific, rattling in 198 goals in just 283 appearances.

It came as something of a surprise, then, when they allowed him to move to La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid, and it looked downright stupid before too long.

Atletico won the 2020/21 La Liga title and Suarez's 21 goals in 32 games played a significant part in that.

His goal product has dropped a little this season, although he is still scoring a goal every three games.

However, should Suarez decide to move on from Atletico Madrid, he will not be short on offers from the Premier League.

Those reportedly include Aston Villa, where former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard is now the manager.

Gerrard has tried to downplay the rumours of Villa landing Suarez, saying: "I understand the links but we're not after a centre-forward, whether it be Luis or anybody else in this window."

Alexis Sanchez

You have to wonder whether Alexis Sanchez kicks himself every day about his decision to snub Manchester City for Manchester United in 2018.

At the time, Sanchez was one of the Premier League's most feared forwards, scoring regularly for Arsenal following a similarly fine spell at Barcelona. In 166 games for the Gunners, Sanchez managed a highly impressive 80 goals before growing frustrated at the club.

When he decided to leave, though, he chose the red half of Manchester. He struggled, scoring just five goals in 45 appearances, Manchester United struggled and, to make matters worse, he had to watch Manchester City thrive.

He escaped Man Utd and won the Italian title with Inter Milan, but he is no longer the prolific scorer of old, managing just 16 goals in 91 matches for the Nerazzurri.

Sanchez is 33 years old now and has been linked with a free transfer to Everton, although that was before they sacked Rafael Benitez.

Victor Moses

Moses has been something of a forgotten man in terms of the Premier League in recent years, but he is still very much around and probably attainable in January.

Now 31 years old, Moses spent a fairly astonishing nine years at Chelsea, although that only translated into 128 games and 18 goals in all competitions.

What he did do a lot of was move around on loan. Moses had temporary spells at Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham in the Premier League before trying his luck abroad.

He managed just 23 games for Fenerbache across two seasons and 20 for Inter Milan, although he has found a home at Spartak Moscow.

Moses initially joined the Russian side on loan for the 2020/21 season and then made that move permanent last season with him now approaching 50 appearances for the club.

His best spell in England came under Antonio Conte at Chelsea, where he won a Premier League title, and it was the Italian who took him to Inter Milan too. Perhaps he will be tempted to worked with him again at Tottenham.

Georginio Wijnaldum

Wijnaldum is another former Premier League winner who has moved abroad and isn't getting the game-time he was expecting.

The Dutchman's first taste of the Premier League was one to forget, with the midfielder part of the Newcastle team relegated in 2015/16.

A move to Liverpool gave him the platform to show what he could do, though, and he became a very popular player at Anfield, making nearly 200 appearances in a five-year spell.

Wijnaldum moved to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer on a free and has struggled for game-time, making just 12 starts.

He still has plenty of admirers in the Premier League, though, with Tottenham and Arsenal both reportedly keen to bring him back to England in this window.