As far as player valuations go, Eden Hazard is undoubtedly Chelsea’s biggest asset. His acquisition by the London based club was immediately followed by media speculation that he was eventually destined for either of Spain’s top two clubs. Even as recently as this summer, he was linked with a move to Ligue 1 Champions Paris St. Germain.
However on Monday morning reports emanating from the English press claimed that Eden Hazard was in talks to sign a new five year deal, which will keep him contracted to the Blues till the 2018/2019 season. Days later, it seized to be a rumour as the Chelsea boss confirmed that talks were ongoing;
“He’s obviously a player to keep. In spite of the fact that he’s already on a long term contract, because he’s young as it’s true that Chelsea are trying to have an agreement with him over a new contract”
Although the new deal and the accompanying £200,000 wage package puts the Blues in a comfortable position, they should however be aware that the player at the end of the day, may desire a future with Spain’s top two, were it seems every young player dreams of playing. Hazard made his intentions known in an interview shortly after arriving where he was quoted as saying that even though he had been courted by the Spanish heavy weights, playing time was his primary concern as a young and developing player.
The threat of potential suitors is not likely to worry Chelsea, who has shown that they have absolutely no problem selling any player, as long as they receive the right offer. Examples include the sales of players like Robben, Mata, Lukaku and Luiz among a few others.
A bid for the highly rated Belgian is more likely to come from Real Madrid than it is from Barcelona. As all it takes, is for Hazard to have one player of the season performance and Real will start to circle round, as they will have then confirmed his status as a Galactico. With 4 games gone so far this season, it seems Hazard is playing his usual eye catching football and nothing more.
With an entire family of footballers to advise him, Hazard will be wary of going to Real Madrid as long as Ronaldo is still there. The Portuguese has been unplayable for six consecutive seasons thus far, and doesn’t seem like he’s slowing down this season or next.
Notwithstanding, if Real Madrid eventually comes for Chelsea’s star man, they will come with a reputation of having money to spend, after doling out unreasonable amounts of cash to acquire their latest high profile recruits in James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale.
The best time for the Spanish giants to make their move will be right now. However, history has taught us that Real will only come when a player is in his prime and is playing his best ever football. Making a bid right now, increases the Chances of Chelsea accepting an 80million pound bid. If they however wait for the Belgian to fulfil his potential of being one of the best players in Chelsea’s history, then they will have to break the record fee.
Either way, the London side have fortified their position in any upcoming transfer dealings, while Eden Hazard seems to have also fortified himself on the wage front, with his reported wage fee being the highest of any other player on his team.
God is all