Rumours revolving around player transfers tend to drum up the most vocal of responses from the footballing community and with good reason. Who doesn’t like to hear that their team are attempting to lure a prized asset from one of their biggest rivals? The more outlandish these rumours are, the more buzz they will generate.
According to numerous reports, Real Madrid will try to sign Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois this summer, with Colombian James Rodriguez and Spain striker Alvaro Morata offered as part of the deal. Outlandish enough?
Trending
Also Read: Reports: Real Madrid promise Eden Hazard Cristiano Ronaldo's salary as talks progress
Transfers which involve player swaps are never easy and rarely executed. A number of contributing factors between the players involved, their agents and the clubs often deteriorate any chance of an agreement being reached. There are too many variables working against one another.
Though it seems certain events bring out the most creative in people and this is exactly what has happened during Real Madrid’s presidential year. Whilst there doesn’t appear to be much competition standing in Florentino Perez’s way, he is still expected to make his mark in the transfer market with the unveiling of a new Galactico or two, especially since it’s been a quiet two years for the club in this respect.
Throughout a number of transfer windows, Eden Hazard has been earmarked to make a switch to the Bernabeu at some point and Zidane has not been quiet in his admiration for the Belgium playmaker. Likewise, Hazard has stated on numerous occasions that the Real Madrid manager was one of his idols whilst making his way through the ranks of Lille.
The Belgian playmaker is not the only Chelsea player that Real Madrid have been eyeing recently either, with Los Blancos also interested in goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to be the man between the sticks. Whilst Keylor Navas has been a useful player for Real Madrid, he does not quite square up to the most talented of goalkeepers.
Given Real Madrid’s penchant for hoarding the biggest names in football in each and every position coupled with the frustration felt through failing to sign David de Gea due to an administrative error, it is not surprising that they would turn their attention to a renowned goalkeeper such as Courtois.
It is understood that whilst the Spanish giants may be in contact indirectly to pinch the two players, neither have been vocal in attempting to push through a move. Hazard is apparently happy with the football currently on show at Stamford Bridge with his family settled in London, and Courtois has repeatedly stated that he is fully focused on Chelsea at this moment in time.
Attempting to pry these two players from Chelsea would be no easy feat. The London-based team are categorically not a selling club unless they wish to be, and will most likely resist, especially without the manager’s decision to accept.
But this is where fragments of believability come into play. It is common knowledge at this stage that Antonio Conte is a huge admirer of Alvaro Morata, a player who he helped bring into Juventus before taking charge of the Italian national team. There was also talk of failed movements for the Spanish striker last summer, with bids in the region of €70 million being mooted.
Also Read: Reports: Chelsea to rebuff any attempts by Real Madrid to sign superstar
With the addition of James Rodriguez, a player who is seen as one of the most like-for-like swaps for Hazard currently on the market, plausibility does begin to creep in. If Rodriguez was made to feel like he was a key component in the Chelsea squad there is little doubt he would not thrive in Conte’s system. And thus begins the merry-go-round of possibilities that fall Chelsea’s way.
If such a deal was to go through in which Rodriguez essentially replaced Hazard, could Chelsea be tempted into selling Diego Costa for a large fortune with Morata taking his place? There is no doubt of Costa’s importance to the squad at this current moment in time, though with the constant and unsubtle talks of being happy to apparently play in any country from Ligue 1 with Marseille to the Chinese Super League, would Chelsea or their fans be too upset to see him leave?
Likewise, with the windfall received from Costa’s sale and the £52 million pocketed from Oscar’s sale burning a hole in their pocket, Chelsea could turn to a number of high-class goalkeepers with Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak being mooted as a possible target.
If Chelsea were to see Hazard move abroad, there would be an uproar from the fans, disdain and expletives would fall like a relentless downpour on Roman Abramovich, Michael Emenalo, Marina Granovskaia and even Antonio Conte for letting such a catastrophic turn of events happen. Though seeing Courtois, Hazard and Costa replaced with Oblak, Rodriguez and Morata doesn’t especially seem like the end of days.
Chelsea would certainly still make a profit through such sales and this income could be used to further strengthen a squad who will almost certainly be competing in the Champions League once more, with Monaco’s Bakayoko and Bayern Munich star David Alaba currently on their radar.
The loss of Hazard would at least be temporarily damaging to Chelsea’s ambition to stand proud amongst the best teams in Europe, but it is a loss that they can recover from, especially with the players they would be able to bring into the team from his transfer.
