Transfer News: Cristiano Ronaldo set for explosive Juventus exit to join Premier League side, Chelsea lower price for Eden Hazard as Real Madrid move nears and more, 19 April 2019

By Shambhu Ajith

Modified Apr 30, 2019 05:34 GMT

Chelsea lower asking price for Eden Hazard

Chelsea may not be able to keep hold of Eden Hazard for much longer

Chelsea are, in a shocking turn of events, not going to play hardball with respect to Eden Hazard's impending departure. They have lowered the asking price for the Belgian from €116 million to a meek €90 million according to latest reports.

Real Madrid were not willing to meet Chelsea's initial valuation of the Belgian that stood at €116 million. The Blues had subsequently lowered it to the ballpark of €105 million. Hazard's current contract at Chelsea will run out in the summer of 2020 and if Chelsea cannot seal a deal for him this summer, they run the risk of losing him for free at the end of next season.

Chelsea are looking to replace Eden Hazard with Nicolas Pepe of Lille. Pepe has been in scintillating form for the Ligue 1 side and is second on the list of top scorers in the league, just behind Kylian Mbappe with a whopping 19 goals to his name.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram