Latest reports from Spanish news outlet, Don Balon claim Real Madrid have made Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard their number one target to replace Gareth Bale. The shocking news follows after a disappointing start to the season for the Welshman.
Bale has failed to win over the hearts of Real Madrid fans, partly due to his relentless injury woes as the European champions prepare life without the Welshman next summer.
Don Balon claims Real boss Florentino Perez has already drawn up a list of replacements, and head coach Zinedine Zidane has made a personal plea to the club to bring Eden Hazard.
Chelsea, however, could be in serious trouble should Eden Hazard opts to depart the Stamford Bridge next summer. The Belgian International has been a vital part of Chelsea’s success in the past few years, none more so than last season.
Under Antonio Conte, Eden Hazard managed his career-best tally of 16 Premier League goals in a season as well as providing five assists. It has been argued that N’Golo Kante was the most crucial part of Chelsea’s title-winning squad last season. However, Eden Hazard’s contributions in the offensive department is an indispensable asset to the Blues.
While a tally of 16 goals and five assists may seem on par with any other top class top-class Premier League player, the ground reality is pretty much different. Only renowned playmakers in Christian Eriksen and Mesut Ozil had created more chances than Eden Hazard, who created almost 25% of his team’s total chances last season.
Hazard also attempted more take-ons than anyone else in the league(146). Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha managed the second most take-ons with just one less than the Belgian. However, his take-on success rate(59%) was highly inferior to Hazard’s stunning rate of 76%.
There are very few players who can be an outright replacement for Eden Hazard and as the recent transfer window has suggested, signing a good player can be very difficult with the ever-growing competition in the market.
In addition, players like Willian, Pedro and Cesc Fabregas have failed to take their game to the next level either. Therefore, it’s needless to say that Chelsea are bound to suffer without the services of their Belgian superstar and it will equally tough to find an adequate replacement. Meaning, Roman Abramovic needs to do his best in order to prevent the 26-year-old to leave the Stamford Bridge next summer.
