Eden Hazard is undoubtedly Chelsea’s most valuable player and the creative influence offered by the Belgian international has been immense. Since arriving from Lille in 2012 for just £32 million, Hazard has been able to go from being a great potential into a world-class player. The perils of this progression come in the form of transfer interest from Real Madrid, who are ready to pay around £100 million for the 27-year-old.
Hazard’s current contract runs out in 2020 and Chelsea are desperate to extend the same. If the Belgian does not extend his contract within the next few months, Chelsea are at a significant risk of selling the player for a substantially lower transfer fee in the summer of 2019. The winger is currently on around £200,000 per week but he will expect a substantial jump on these figures – especially if he has a good World Cup. The latest World Cup free bets expect Belgium to be a dark horse at the World Cup 2018 largely due to the presence of names like Hazard and Romelu Lukaku.
A disastrous 2017-18 campaign for Chelsea has seen the club finish outside the top four once again. This is the second time in the last five years that the blues have failed to reach the Champions League group stages. More than the losses in revenue, Chelsea are worried about the prospect of losing Hazard to the likes of Real Madrid. For the first time, Hazard has tried to state his demands for staying at Stamford Bridge and it does not have to do with wages. The 27-year-old wants Chelsea to bring in world-class players in the summer so that the club can compete for trophies once again. He said:
“I’m waiting for new players next season. I want good players because I want to win the Premier League next season.
“We’re Chelsea. we need trophies at the end of the season. At the moment we have nothing. We have not qualified for the Champions League. So the season has been bad.
“If we can’t be in the Champions League we need the trophy.
“It’s up to us to save the season with the FA Cup. I’ve never won the FA Cup. I hope this year is for me and for Chelsea. We will give everything.”
A good World Cup for the winger further enhances his bargaining position. Even though Chelsea have been conducting talks with the player for several months, it finally hinges upon the new arrivals at the club. The summer promises to be quite an uncertain time, as Antonio Conte’s potential exit could leave the blues with yet another new manager at the helm.
