Gladbach sign Hazard on loan

Thorgan Hazard has joined Gladbach on a season-long loan

Borussia Monchengladbach have signed Belgium international Thorgan Hazard on a season-long loan from Chelsea.

The 21-year-old attacking midfielder, formerly of Lens, joined the Barclays Premier League club two years ago and was loaned out to Belgian Pro League outfit Zulte Waregem for the past two seasons where he made 73 appearances and scored 19 goals.

Hazard, who is the younger brother of Chelsea's Eden, made his international debut last summer and was named on the reserve list for the World Cup in Brazil.

The 2013 Belgian League footballer of the year admitted he was delighted to make the move to the Bundesliga and is looking forward to meeting and working with his new team-mates.

He t old his club's official website borussia.de: "First of all I am happy that I can now play for Borussia. I do not know too much about the club, but I hope that I will soon learn more about it.

"I know that (Germany international) Marco Reus has played here and of course I also know that my fellow countryman Filip Daems (plays there). Everything else I will certainly learn in the coming time.

"I now must also get to know my new team, so it's perhaps a little too early to talk about it. I'll try to do my best and to attend as many games as possible. That's the most important thing for me."

He admitted being able to communicate with coach Lucien Favre in French will have its advantages, adding: "I do not speak any German and my English is not perfect yet, so it's good for me that I can speak French with the trainer.

"This makes the integration and understanding with him, of course, much easier."

Gladbach sporting director Max Eberl was pleased to announce the news of Hazard's deal which runs until June 2015.

He said: " Thorgan is a promising talent, he is on the offensive in several positions applicable and we are delighted that he has decided to take the next step in his career with Borussia Mönchengladbach."