Chelsea are reportedly set to reopen contract talks with star attacker Eden Hazard, as they look to stave off interest from European champions Real Madrid.
As per a report from French outlet Le10Sport, Premier League giants Chelsea are considering entering contract negotiations once again with wing wizard Eden Hazard, who has emerged as a priority transfer target for Real Madrid.
Hazard’s future with Chelsea has been shrouded with uncertainty for quite some time now. The Belgian attacker flirted with a switch to Real Madrid in the summer transfer window, following a solid World Cup campaign, but decided to stay put at Stamford Bridge.
The 28-year-old has once again been the star for Chelsea in Maurizio Sarri’s debut campaign, leading the way with 15 goals and 10 assists from 36 matches across all competitions. However, rumours linking him with a move to Real Madrid just refuse to go away.
Real Madrid have struggled to fill the void left by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus last summer. Gareth Bale has struggled to fill the giant shoes left vacant by the Portuguese, while the likes of Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez haven’t been consistent enough.
In order to address that issue, the Merengues are extremely intent on signing Hazard ahead of the next season and are believed to be increasingly confident of landing the Belgian international, with the player’s contract with Chelsea set to expire at the end of the 2019-20.
Negotiations over a new contract worth £300,000-a-week had failed as Hazard was reluctant to put pen to paper. However, Chelsea are hoping to convince him to extend his stay in West London beyond the summer of 2020 and to that end, are reopening negotiations with the player’s representatives.
Chelsea have been hit with a two-window transfer ban by FIFA due to a breach of regulations in signing under-age players. In lieu of that, the Blues will be unable to register new players in the summer window and the subsequent January window, meaning should Hazard end up leaving the club, they will be unable to bring in a suitable replacement, unless they contest the ban.
Given how important a player Hazard is for Chelsea, his departure, should it happen in the summer, is bound to hurt them badly. And things will be even worse if they are unable to sign a marquee player to replace the Belgian wing wizard. So, it makes sense that the Blues are hoping to restart negotiations over a new deal with the 28-year-old.
It remains to be seen, though, if Hazard remains a Chelsea player come next season, or if he will be setting the La Liga alight as a Real Madrid superstar.
