Real Madrid have reportedly already made contact with Chelsea over Eden Hazard, but there is a disparity between their respective valuations.
That’s the claim made by The Telegraph’s Matt Law as he appeared as a guest on the Sky Sports Sunday Supplement panel this weekend, as they discussed the potential advantage of Chelsea allowing their talisman to move on.
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Hazard has been in fine form again so far this season, scoring 19 goals and providing 12 assists in 43 appearances.
The 28-year-old has been a fundamental figure for the Blues since joining them in 2012, winning two Premier League titles, the Europa League, an FA Cup and League Cup.
However, a case has been made by the panel that Chelsea could be better off selling and spending the funds sensibly to rebuild the squad, while the claim from Law was also made that Real Madrid are still a little way off what the Premier League giants want for their star man.
“They’ve certainly made contact, I think negotiations are well on the way,” he said, as quoted by Sky Sports. “They’re at two different places with figures. Chelsea want at least 100m, if not more.
“I think Madrid don’t want to pay more than what they paid for (Gareth) Bale, around £85m.
“Hazard is desperate to go, desperate not to sign a new contract. Even if Chelsea said ‘no’ all summer they know he won’t sign a new contract and they’ll lose him on a free.
“I think Madrid want it done pretty quickly, I can see him getting the move by the start of the summer.”
The Times’ Matt Dickinson argued that Chelsea could “get a huge fee and spend it wisely”, while he used Liverpool as an example of getting it right after they sold Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho.
However, there is also Tottenham to consider after they sold Gareth Bale, as it’s taken them a number of years to establish themselves as a top four side after spending that money on several players.
Given that they’re already fighting to stay in the top four, Chelsea must surely either get Hazard to commit to a long-term deal, or sell this summer and use that fee to sign a new talisman.
That plan could of course be severely complicated though if they are unable to successfully appeal against their transfer ban, which is currently being heard, as noted by Sky Sports.
