It is no secret that Zinedine Zidane likes Eden Hazard and wants Real Madrid to sign him for Chelsea after the end of the season. Hazard has been heavily linked with a move to Real but Chelsea will be keen to hold on to their Belgium ace when the transfer window reopens in the summer.
However, former Southampton defender Danny Higginbotham thinks the reigning Premier League champions will have an uphill task in keeping the playmaker if the Spanish clubs come knocking at their door.
The player turned pundit feels Real Madrid and Barcelona possess incredible pulling power and any player is bound to accept a transfer if they come up with an offer.
“I think if Real Madrid or Barcelona come calling I don’t think it matters,” Higginbotham told Sky Sports’ The Debate (h/t Express).
“We saw it with Suarez at Liverpool, Bale at Tottenham and Ronaldo at Manchester United. We have seen it with Coutinho recently. When them clubs come calling it doesn’t matter because they are the pinnacle for a lot of players.”
It is believed Real could undergo a heavy overhaul of their squad in the summer due to their lacklustre displays this season. They have performed so poorly that they are now placed 4th in the table, 17 points off league leaders Barcelona.
There is no way Real can catch their arch-rivals Barcelona and the only way of salvaging the season is to win the Champions League. While Zidane has come under a lot of fire, he heaved a huge sigh of relief when his team defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 in the first-leg of Champions League round of 16.
Even if the Frenchman somehow keeps himself on the job at Real, the club is expected to splash a lot of cash in bringing fresh players, and Hazard is one of them.
On the other hand, Chelsea have had their problems this season with Antonio Conte failing to reproduce the kind of football that won him the Premier League last term. Hazard has been one of the most consistent players for our club this season and by hook or crook, we need to keep hold of him.
Real are expected to come with a bumper offer for the Belgian in the summer but Conte, if at all he stays beyond the summer, should persuade Hazard to sign a new deal at Chelsea.