Kenny McLean insists Eden Hazard is comparable with the best in the game as Scotland prepare to face star-studded Belgium in their Euro 2020 qualifier on Tuesday night.
Hazard will move from Chelsea to Real Madrid for next season in a deal which could reportedly cost the Spanish side up to £130million.
Steve Clarke’s side beat Cyprus 2-1 at Hampden Park on Saturday night to keep their chances of qualifying out of Group I alive but McLean accepts that the Red Devils will be a different proposition with Hazard up there alongside Portugal’s Ronaldo and Lionel Messi of Argentina.
“I don’t think there is any question about that,” the Norwich midfielder told Press Association Sport.
“They are littered with plenty of quality, world-class players and he is at the top of the tree in my opinion.
“You want to play against the best and it will be a tough game but one we want to be involved in. It will be good to test yourself against a team like that.
Relive the moment @OliverBurke55 got the Steve Clarke reign off to a winning start against Cyprus on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/BH3PVeWR9g— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 10, 2019
“You could see against Cyprus that already we were well drilled and tough to break down. We felt comfortable most of the game, we conceded from a set-piece which was disappointing.
“Against Belgium we will need to be even more compact, patient and pick and choose our moments when we can go forward.
“It is going to be a tough game but one that we look forward to.”
New boss Clarke revealed he only had a brief look at the footage of last year’s friendly game between the two sides where Belgium cruised to a 4-0 win.
He said: “I had a quick look at it but obviously time constraints meant that I had to look at towards their more-recent performances and they’re a good team.
“We’ll give them all the respect they deserve but we’ll go out there and try and make it as difficult a night as possible for them.”
