Real Madrid prepare fresh Eden Hazard approach Matt Law
24 MAY 2019 • 10:30 PM
Real Madrid will make a new bid for Eden Hazard after the Europa League final, but do not expect Chelsea to do the Belgian any special favours for winning the trophy.
Hazard will make what is anticipated to be his final Chelsea appearance against Arsenal in Baku, with Real planning to re-open negotiations.
But hopes of an easy deal being struck have been hit by Chelsea’s £130million valuation, and Real have received no indication Hazard will be rewarded with his asking price being quickly dropped if he leads the club to Europa League success.
That means Real are braced for more tough negotiations with Chelsea, though they remain confident they will eventually land their target.As revealed by Telegraph Sport, Real made their first move for Hazard in March, but talks between Chelsea and the Spaniards were recently put on hold ahead of Wednesday night’s final.
Chelsea have told Real they value Hazard at around £130m, including bonuses, with the La Liga club reluctant to pay much more than £88m.
Hazard has personally told Chelsea he wants to go to the Bernabeu and will not sign a new contract even if they try to hold him to the final year of his deal.
Talks have been complicated by Chelsea’s two-window Fifa transfer ban and the long-term injury to Callum Hudson-Odoi, who is viewed as Hazard’s successor on the left side.Despite the fact Hazard has made his preference clear to the club, team-mates Willian and Pedro claim to have no inside dressing-room knowledge of where the forward will be playing next season.
“It’s difficult to say anything about this situation because we don’t know what will happen, but what I can say is that if he goes then I will be very sad,” said Willian.
Pedro added: “I don’t know [about Hazard’s future]. The most important thing is to focus on the team, the result, and get the trophy.”
Willian has admitted he is desperate to make up for what he believes has been a below-par season for him and Chelsea by winning the Europa League.
Chelsea have qualified for the Champions League after finishing third in the Premier League and are preparing for their second final of the season, having lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City.
But Chelsea fans have been dissatisfied for large parts of the campaign, with many focussing their frustration on head coach Maurizio Sarri and players such as Willian, whose impact has been limited.
The Brazilian narrowly beat his worst Chelsea season for Premier League goals, scoring just three times - one better than his meagre tally of two in 2014/15.
But his output in Europe has been better. Willian has netted three goals in 14 appearances and assisted seven times, once more than he did in the entire league campaign.
“I know it has not been my best season, it was OK but it wasn’t top,” said Willian. “I know I can play much better. Not only me, but the whole squad, it wasn’t our best season. We all know we can do better.
“But at the end we set some targets and we reached some of them. We reached the Carabao Cup final, reached the third position in the Premier League and now we have the Europa League final to play.
“If you see at the end and we win the trophy, then I think it’s been a good season. We have reached the Champions League and can win a European trophy which is a good season, even though we always want more.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/05/24/real-madrid-prepare-fresh-eden-hazard-approach/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
