5 Big Transfers that Could Happen Before the Summer Window Closes

As most footballers take a well-earned break following their arduous World Cup campaigns, fans have nothing left to look forward to for the next few weeks except transfer stories.

It is the case every summer but today's generation of fans do everything to track transfer stories - be it following the most reliable journalists on social media who are "in the know" to tracking flights online to see where said transfer targets are in real-time.

We've already seen a monumental transfer take place this summer with Cristiano Ronaldo making the switch from Real Madrid to Juventus. But will it be the biggest story of the summer when the transfer window slams shut?

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#5 Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea)

Thibaut Courtois could return to La Liga this summer

After a relatively successful World Cup with Belgium, Thibaut Courtois is ready to leave Chelsea. TransferMarkt currently values him at £58.5m. However, the Blues could be forced to sell him at a cheaper price.

The Belgian shot-stopper has just one more year left on his contract. And the 6 ft 6 in goalkeeper has no intention of extending his contract at the club knowing he wants to return to Spain.

Courtois has family in Madrid and the club in question is none other than Real Madrid. Florentino Perez and the board were not looking to spend big but a cut-price fee of €40m (approximately £35.7m) could see them welcome the 26-year-old.

After giving up on signing David De Gea from Manchester United, seeing as the Red Devils have no intention of selling him (he is valued at £63m but United will ask for much more even if they did sell him), Courtois is their next best option - even though he spent three years on loan at the club of their arch-rivals, Atletico Madrid.

This puts Keylor Navas' career at the Santiago Bernabeu in jeopardy but the deal could only go through if Chelsea find a capable replacement. They are tough to negotiate with as Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund found out in the three-way striker swap in January.

Chelsea could even wait till deadline day to seal this deal.

#4 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Robert Lewandowski did not have a great World Cup in Russia

By the time the World Cup qualifiers were done and dusted in Europe, nobody had scored more goals than Poland striker Robert Lewandowski. With 16 goals, he had even outscored Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo (15 goals).

Not that it did Poland any good at the World Cup, though, as the Polish squad failed to impress, eventually finishing dead last in the group with just one win and two losses.

Lewandowski was the undisputed top goalscorer in the Bundesliga with 29 goals. He was virtually unchallenged, especially after Borussia Dortmund sold Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Arsenal in January.

However, not all is well at the Bavarian club. With a new manager also coming in, Lewandowski may be on his way out. His agent had also said in May: “Robert feels he needs a change and a new challenge in his career. The managers of Bayern know about it.”

According to Independent, Manchester United are targeting Lewandowski but there is no word yet on whether Jose Mourinho has made him a top priority.

As for Lewandowski? He's not letting on about a possible move just yet.

"Whether from Znicz [Pruszków] to Lech or from Lech [Poznan] to Borussia Dortmund, let along from BVB to Bayern," he said in an interview with Przeglad Sportowy. "I had time to learn to deal with such situations."

#3 Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio)

Where is Sergej Milinkovic-Savic headed?

It takes a special season to be courted by both Real Madrid and Manchester United and that's exactly what Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has accomplished with Lazio in 2017/18.

With 12 goals in Serie A playing in central midfield, Milinkovic-Savic has turned heads. He had 14 goals and 9 assists in all competitions, playing nearly 50 games for the Italian club.

Although Serbia were eliminated early in the World Cup, the 23-year-old did have his moments and Lazio will be hoping that clubs will pay through their nose for him.

Not to be left behind in the highly-inflated transfer market and the fact that he has a contract with the club until 2022 has seen Lazio slap a nine-figure transfer fee, willing to listen to offers that are only more than €100m.

While Real are looking to rebuild in the post-Ronaldo era with the group of youngsters, they may not be willing to spend so much on a player who just had his breakout season.

United, however, have the resources and ambition to make such a move happen.

#2 Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus)

Gonzalo Higuain may have played his last match for Juventus

How times change. Before Juventus signed Cristiano Ronaldo, their most expensive purchase was Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli, fresh off a record-equalling Capocannoniere season where he had scored 36 goals and bought for €90m in the summer.

With Ronaldo coming to Turin, Higuain may have been looking forward to teaming up with his former teammate. The duo had played together at Real Madrid for four seasons after all.

However, the huge outlay on Ronaldo could see Juventus make Higuain the sacrificial lamb in a bid to balance the books. £99.2m to sign the reigning Ballon d'Or winner will see certainly see departures.

Chelsea are one of the top dogs reportedly chasing Higuain's signature. Alvaro Morata failed to impress in his debut season in the Premier League and it remains to be seen if Maurizio Sarri will allow him to lead the line again.

While Juventus are looking to offload Stefano Sturaro and Marko Pjaca, Higuain remains the sole player and they are willing to listen to offers from clubs could get them the big-money offer the crave.

#1 Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

Eden Hazard was one of the best players at the World Cup

Just like Thibaut Courtois, his compatriot Eden Hazard is not looking to stay at Chelsea for the rest of his career. The only difference is that Hazard's contract has two years to run with his deal with the Blues expiring only in 2020.

That gives Chelsea some room to negotiate a good price for the Belgian forward rather than accept a significantly lower transfer fee now instead of losing him for free when his contract expires.

TransferMarkt values Hazard at £108m and new boss Maurizio Sarri is aware he is their biggest star. But he is in no hurry to convince both Hazard and Courtois to stay at the club.

“I would like to keep them,” Sarri said when he was unveiled at Stamford Bridge. “But a telephone call without looking them in the eye will not give me any certainty."

On his part, Hazard has not committed his future to the Stamford Bridge club, saying: “After six wonderful years at Chelsea it might be time to discover something different. I can decide if I want to stay or go, but Chelsea will make the final decision if they want to let me go."

That's not all, he has dropped so many hints that it is quite obvious that he wants to leave - especially now because the Blues are no longer in the Champions League.

"We all know that I’ve always felt well at Chelsea. You all know my preferred destination." - Eden Hazard

It is no secret that Real Madrid is where he wants to play. Former boss Zinedine Zidane was also a great admirer of the Blues forward and it remains to be seen if Real do submit a formal bid.

The club are said to be willing to consider the option of bringing him to the Bernabeu. However, they will not be bullied into paying an exorbitant sum to bring him, with a backup plan to bring Neymar to the club next summer.

Real will also have to be on their toes as Barcelona are also reportedly looking to hijack the deal and bring him to the Camp Nou instead.