Chelsea want a world-record fee in excess of £200million if they are to sell Eden Hazard this summer. Real Madrid remain the favoured destination for Hazard but Chelsea will not sell their star man cheaply and know the price tag will act as a deterrent at this stage of the window.
Hazard he is not pushing for a move and Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri is keen to work with him and Willian, who has missed out on a move to Barcelona. However, there is growing concern that the Belgian will not extend his contract at Stamford Bridge. He has two years remaining on his current deal but has stalled on signing new terms worth £300,000-a-week.
Chelsea will also have to determine their goalkeeping situation once Real Madrid target Thibaut Courtois returns from holiday. Alarmingly, Courtois has just one year left on his contract and talks have not restarted since breaking down in May. They would like Everton’s Jordan Pickford as his replacement but Everton have no desire to sell and will consider a new contract for their England international.
Chelsea are continuing talks with Juventus for defenders Daniele Rugani and Matteo Caldara. They remain keen on Gonzalo Higuain but face competition from AC Milan, who like Chelsea pair Alvaro Morata and Tiemoue Bakayoko.
Morata is likely to leave should Higuain arrive, which would allow for a three-way deal where by Milan back away from the Juventus striker in order to get their hands on the Spaniard.
This summer has seen speculation linking Eden Hazard with a move away from Chelsea ramp into overdrive. Most of the money is on the Belgian forward swapping Stamford Bridge for the Santiago Bernabeu, a situation which would fit in line with the Spanish side’s policy of buying at least one superstar in the aftermath of the World Cup.
While it has been reported that Chelsea are looking to recruit players of a required calibre this summer in a bid to convince him to stay, the 27-year-old’s comments after Belgium’s 2-0 victory over England during the World Cup suggested that such measures have not worked.
The comments, reported post-match by members of the Belgian media, will send a shiver down the backs of Chelsea fans.
“After 6 wonderful years at Chelsea it might be time to discover something different,” said the former Lille star. “Certainly after this World Cup. I can decide if I want to stay or go, but Chelsea will make the final decision – if they want to let me go. You know my preferred destination.”
However, Harry Kane has been voted Real Madrid fans’ ideal replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo in an online poll by Spanish publication Marca. England’s World Cup Golden Boot winner claimed 26 per cent of the nearly 200,000 votes finishing ahead of Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani and Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi, who both received 14 per cent in the survey.
Kane scored 30 Premier League goals for Spurs last season and followed that up by signing a new long-term deal in June, keeping him at the club until 2024. Cavani’s PSG team-mates Kylian Mbappe and Neymar were surprisingly omitted from the selection.
Eden Hazard, who has long been linked with Madrid, suggested he would be interested in a move to the Bernabeu following the World Cup but was another big name left out of the survey. Former Real Madrid striker and academy graduate Mariano Lopez, who plies his trade for Lyon, received 12 per cent of the vote, along with Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski. Valencia forward Rodrigo, another youth product of Real, only fetched six per cent in the polls.
Ronaldo’s £106m departure to Juventus leaves new boss Julen Lopetegui with a huge void in central attack.
Real currently have three central striking options in their squad with Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Borja Mayoral who totalled 40 goals across all competitions last season.