Transfer News: Real Madrid ready to entertain offers for Chelsea linked Eden Hazard
According to the Spanish publication AS (h/t Football.London), Real Madrid are willing to listen to offers for Chelsea linked Eden Hazard ahead of the summer transfer window. His future at Santiago Bernabeu is hanging in the balance at this moment as he has failed to live up to the expectations upon which he was signed initially.
Hazard left the Blues to join Real for a fee of £100million back in 2019. However, injuries and fitness problems have derailed his tenure at the Spanish capital so far, and it seems that his time with them is coming to an end soon. He has been linked with a return to Stamford Bridge, which has been fueled even more by this latest update.
The Madrid club is keen on signing Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe on a free transfer this summer. As such, Hazard would have to make way for Mbappe, leading to this situation. This development could potentially hand Thomas Tuchel’s side the initiative to target their club legend after this term.
Should Chelsea re-sign Hazard?
There are some obvious concerns regarding the prospect of bringing back Hazard, even if he is highly appreciated by all of us. We could use some additions on the left wing if there are departures after this season. Timo Werner, who has been utilised in that position, can perhaps stick to playing as a backup number 9 rather than out wide considering how he has underperformed since joining us.
Hazard could have a spot in such a case where he would battle it out with Callum Hudson-Odoi on the left-hand side of the attack. Christian Pulisic has been used on the right-wing by Tuchel of late, which does open up the possibility of finding space for Hazard in the Blues lineup.
However, it may not be the wisest option to sign him and take on his wages considering how he has clearly flopped for Los Blancos. His contract runs until 2024, at the end of which he will be 33 years old.
Fans would obviously love for him to recapture his lost mojo with us. Then again, he could take a page from Philippe Coutinho’s books looking at how he has reinvigorated his career after a failed spell at Barcelona.
What’s more, we also cannot accept taking over Hazard’s £400,000-a-week wages that he is currently earning at Madrid. That salary is clearly unreasonable for a club such as us looking at his current level of performance. Hence, there are a lot of factors that the club needs to closely assess before going down this route.
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It will be interesting to see if the West Londoners will actively target the 31-year-old this summer or not. While the emotional value of the club legend’s return is great to think about, we must be reasonable at the same time because of the risks involved in a potential move.
Those who have followed his time in Spain would also be well aware of his struggle with injury issues. Perhaps, we can bring him back in the same capacity that we brought back Didier Drogba and Arsenal re-signed Thierry Henry. But if we have to part ways with a sizable sum of money for him, it wouldn’t make sense to bring him back to the Bridge just for sentimental value.