The 23-year-old Belgian World Cup star has started this season in scintillating fashion as well, as Chelsea have won their first four games of the campaign to shoot to the top of the Premier League table.
But, as his team prepared to face Schalke tomorrow in their opening Champions League match, Mourinho said: "Eden means a lot to us because he's a fantastic player. We are seeing 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 to reach higher levels, to become one of the best.
"He is a player we want to keep. It's true Chelsea are trying to have an agreement with him over a new contract, and that he wants to stay. It's a question of time. One more month, he'll have a new contract."
Mourinho criticized Hazard after Chelsea crashed out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage last season, for his lack of defensive qualities.
But he said: "Even last season that was changing.
"It was a big evolution from the Hazard I met when I arrived. He was changing. He was a kid who always lived on his natural talent, which is amazing. But he started to have some tactical education, mental education.
"There's been a big improvement. That's why we see that he can go from being a top talent to a fantastic player. We want that, because his talent allows him to go from being a top player to one of the greats of his generation."
Hazard has taken the No 10 shirt at Chelsea this season, like his idol Zinedine Zidane.
Mourinho said: "Can he be another Zinedine Zidane? The first point to compare is the size!
"To have that ambition is good. I like that. I don't care about shirts and numbers. The players decide, they ask, they change. The ones with more years at the club obviously have the right to choose.
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