Barcelona set to sign Chelsea superstar in January, Chelsea identify €80 million Eden Hazard replacement and more: Transfer Roundup, 17 December 2018

By Shambhu Ajith

Modified Dec 17, 2018 14:57 GMT

Ernesto Valverde will likely have a busy winter

Chelsea identify Ousmane Dembele as Eden Hazard replacement

Ousmane Dembele might leave Barcelona soon

Chelsea have, as per Don Balon, identified Ousmane Dembele as the ideal replacement for Eden Hazard who is tipped for a move to Real Madrid.

The Stamford Bridge outfit finds themselves in a bit of a pickle as it grows increasingly certain that Eden Hazard will eventually make his way to Real Madrid. But the silver lining is that Chelsea will get a lot of money if Hazard leaves and thus the financial side of things will not pose a problem in finding a suitable replacement.

The out-of-favour Barcelona forward Dembele has thus been identified as a like-for-like replacement. Dembele's disciplinary issues have put him in the doghouse at Barcelona and there are several reports that claim that the Frenchman's time at Catalonia may be up.

Dembele joined Barcelona in the summer of 2017 amid huge fanfare and though he has impressed in fits and starts, he has failed to live up to initial expectations.

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.

Know More

Edited by Sripad