Eden Hazard’s Chelsea future is up in the air with just over 12 months left on his current contract.
It may not be that way for much longer though.
With Zinedine Zidane back in charge at Real Madrid, the man who was Hazard’s childhood hero seems destined to coach him for the Spanish giants.
Our partners Sky Sports have more details on Real’s growing belief that Hazard, 28, will step out at the Bernabeu from this summer and beyond.
“Real Madrid are increasingly confident of signing Eden Hazard this summer, Sky Sports News understands. However, Chelsea are holding out for £100m despite Hazard having just over a year left on his contract. The situation is made complicated by Chelsea’s two-window transfer ban, which will come into effect this summer, with the Blues’ appeal to be heard on Thursday.”
Sky Sports go on to state that Chelsea are holding out for a $130 million transfer fee for Hazard, even though he only has 12 months left on his current deal.
The Belgian star is probably worth closer to $200 million, so a price of around $75-100 million is likely what Chelsea will receive if a club signs him this summer.
Hazard has admitted in public that he is torn between staying at Chelsea, where he has been for seven years, or moving on to a club like Madrid when his current deal was up. Apart from winning the UEFA Champions League, he has won everything else with the Blues since arriving from Lille as a youngster in 2012. If he leaves this summer, few Chelsea fans will lambast Hazard who has stuck around through some tumultuous years and has always given his all for the west London club.
Even though losing Hazard would be a big blow to Chelsea’s team, especially with a transfer ban likely until July 2020, they have youngsters Callum Hudson-Odoi and the incoming Christian Pulisic lined up to replace the mercurial playmaker. Whether or not manager Maurizio Sarri will be around to coach them next season is another matter, but we all know how volatile the head coach’s position at Chelsea is...
As for Real, it is clear they need a new global superstar to lead their attack as they’ve struggled mightily without Cristiano Ronaldo this season as the likes of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Isco have been in and out of the team under their various managers.
Real will qualify for the Champions League next season, which is something Chelsea cannot say right now with real conviction, and Hazard would be linking up with his close friend Thibaut Courtois in the Spanish capital.
It is likely that Real’s move for Hazard won’t be their only big move of the summer window, as Zidane has returned for a reason and that is probably because club president Florentino Perez has told him he can lead a huge squad overhaul after their disappointing campaign.
