Barcelona star Lionel Messi is reportedly keen for his club to strike a deal to sign Chelsea forward Eden Hazard in this summer’s transfer window.
According to Don Balon, the Argentine would love to see Barca beat Real Madrid to the €200million-rated Belgium international’s signature and would be happy for his side to exchange the €120m-rated Ousmane Dembele as part of the deal, most likely with €80m in cash going to Stamford Bridge as well.
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While Dembele arrived just last summer as a superb young prospect, it would be fair to say the France international has not showed his best form at the Nou Camp and may be better off in a different system.
Chelsea under new manager Maurizio Sarri could well be a good fit, and it seems Messi would have no problem losing the youngster to the Blues if it meant landing Hazard, according to Don Balon.
Hazard is undoubtedly one of the very finest attacking midfielders in the world, and unlike Dembele seems an ideal player to fit in to Barcelona’s style of play.
The Catalan giants also need more creative players in their ranks after the departure of Andres Iniesta, while Hazard could also arguably do a job as a replacement for Neymar up front since his move to Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
Since the Brazilian’s exit, Barcelona have brought in Dembele and Philippe Coutinho, but with the former not working out, it could take yet another big-name addition to fully fill the void left by his departure.
