Transfer Merry Go Round – Hazard To Real Madrid, Ronaldo To Manchester United

Reports have filtered in that Real Madrid are putting plans in place to launch a mega offer for Chelsea’s Eden Hazard

The club’s president Florentino Perez has made the signing of the Belgian whizz a priority and could let one of his current superstars leave the Santiago Bernabeu, with the move likely to go through next summer.

Hazard, once of Lille, has so far failed to show the form which saw him named the Footballers’ Association Players’ Player Of The Year last season, albeit he showed glimpses of his old self against Arsenal last weekend and Newcastle United yesterday.

The Belgium international is said to be the latest marquee signing Perez wants to make. Real – who are famed for investing heavily of superstars – broke the world record to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for £80m in 2009. Los Blancos also broke that record to sign Gareth Bale in 2013 and also brought James Rodriguez to the Bernabeu from Monaco in 2014.

Hazard seems to be who Perez wants to succeed Cristiano Ronaldo – who has been touted to make a return to Manchester United or sign for Paris Saint-Germain. At 24, Hazard has all that it takes to fill the void that would be left open by the Portuguese superstar should Ronaldo leave.

By his own standards, Hazard has been under-performing this season, but that has not deterred Real in the pursuit of the Chelsea forward. As per The Sunday Times, Perez is prepared to go as far as selling either Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo to secure funds for Hazard’s transfer. Nevertheless, the La Liga giants still have the power to pull off the deal without having to sell any of their superstars.

The question now is how mammoth would the fee Real would be offering Chelsea for Hazard be? The last time there was a rumour of a Madrid move for the Chelsea number ten, Mourinho suggested to the press that Hazard would cost Los Blancos around £300m in a time when FFP rules were not as strict as now. It is now left to be seen how much the Blues would be holding out for when Real come knocking.

The Blues continued their unimpressive start to the season as they toiled to a draw away to a winless Newcastle United on Saturday, with boss Jose Mourinho slamming the first half performance of his team. They now face Porto in the Champions League at the Estadio Dragao on Tuesday.