LONDON -- Eden Hazard will sign a new contract with Chelsea, Jose Mourinho has confirmed, and the Portuguese thinks it can make the playmaker one of the "greats of his generation."
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Despite speculation that the Belgian was considering a move to Paris Saint-Germain over the past year, sources have told ESPN FC that significant progress has been made on a new five-year contract that will see Hazard earn up to 200,000 pounds a week.
"It's true Chelsea are trying to have an agreement over a new contract, and that he wants to stay and commit for a few more years," he told a news conference. "It's a question of time. One more month, one less month, and he'll have a new contract.
"He means a lot because he's a fantastic player. We are feeling day by day his motivation to work hard and improve.
"We have big hopes that he will go from the top player he is at this moment and will reach higher levels to become one of the best. He is a player who we want to keep, in spite of the fact he has a long-term contract as young as he is."
Mourinho also praised Hazard's development, having previously criticised the player for failing in his defensive duties, particularly after last season's 3-1 Champions League semifinal defeat to Atletico Madrid.
"Even last season it was changing," he said. "It was a big evolution from the Hazard I met in Thailand when I arrived [for preseason last year]. He was changing.
"He was a kid always living on his natural talent, which is amazing, but he was just living on that. But from a certain moment he started to have some tactical education, mental education... so young. I think there's been a big improvement. That's why we're seeing that, from a top talent, he's a fantastic player.
"But now we want -- because his talent allows him to -- to go from a top player to one of the greats of his generation. That's why we think he can and why we're proud that he thinks that Chelsea is the perfect environment for him to have that evolution. That's why he wants to commit to us, and why we want him to commit for the future, too."