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Eden Hazard is riding high after a sensational Europa League title win, scoring a brace as Chelsea steamrolled Arsenal 4-1 in Baku yesterday. The mercurial Belgian is widely reported to be headed for a £106m move to Real Madrid with the attacker himself confirming after the Europa final that he might be leaving Stamford Bridge. Speaking after the game, the 28-year-old said:
"I think it is a goodbye. You never know in football. My dream was to play in the Premier League and I did that for 7 years with the biggest clubs in the world so maybe now it is time for a new challenge. We will decide in a few days. My target today was to win the trophy, that is it. I took my decision already, I said that two weeks ago. Now it depends on the club. Both clubs. We will know in a couple of days.”
Voted as the Chelsea Player of the Season, the Premier League Playmaker of the Season as well as the PFA Fans' Player of the Season, Hazard also won the Silver Ball as the tournament's second best player at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. A speedy winger with fantastic feet, Hazard is also capable of playing as a false 9. The talismanic Belgian has recorded 21 goals and 17 assists across all competitions for Chelsea this season, helping them finish third in the Premier League and qualify for the UEFA Europa League final. He has also been in spectacular form for Belgium post the World Cup, having scored 3 goals in two UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers so far.
Real Madrid have struggled to find an able replacement for the talisman Cristiano Ronaldo who departed for Juventus in July 2018. Los Blancos have had a shambolic 2018-19 season, finishing a dismal third in LaLiga and crashing out of both the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League in the early knockout stages. Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is reportedly a huge fan of the Belgian and earlier reports have claimed claims that Hazard will be presented on the 3rd of June as a Los Blancos player.
In this article, we look at three Real Madrid players who will be affected by the potential arrival of the Belgian super star:
#3 Marco Asensio
23-year-old Marco Asensio is a talented winger with great ability on the ball, but with a proclivity to be inconsistent. His performances have also been hampered due to frequent injury layoffs, including a 4-week absence in December 2018 following a muscle strain to his right quadriceps. Making just 22 starts this season for Los Blancos, the Spanish international contributed 6 goals and 4 assists.
With the arrival of Eden Hazard and the emergence of the immense raw talent that is Vinicius Junior, the chances of Asensio making it into the Real Madrid first XI seem remote. AS had reported that Tottenham Hotspur are interested in the Spanish winger, with Real Madrid so far refusing to put him up for sale. Currently valued at €80 million, Asensio signed a six-year-deal with Real Madrid in 2017, designed to keep him at the Bernebeu till 2023.
#2 Isco Alcaron
Real Madrid playmaker Isco has had a largely forgettable 2018-19 season, being confined to the bench under Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari. Back trouble also saw him miss several crucial games for Real Madrid in February. Zinedine Zidane coming back as Real Madrid manager in March was good news for the 27-year-old former Malaga man as the Frenchman is known to be a huge admirer of the Spaniard, who started just 11 games in LaLiga this season, scoring 3 goals and providing 2 assists.
Given that Eden Hazard and Isco occupy the same positions for both club and country, the arrival of the Belgian is likely to confine Isco to a bench role at Los Blancos. As per latest reports from AS, Italian champions Juventus are willing to shell out €60m for the Spanish playmaker, whose current contract with Real Madrid extends till 2022.
#1 Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale has had a torrid season at Real Madrid. Injuries and poor form have resulted in him becoming public enemy number one for the Bernabeu faithful while manager Zinedine Zidane has made it clear that the Welshman doesn't feature in his first-team plans.
The potential signing of Eden Hazard might be the final turning point to convince Bale to leave Real Madrid, with reports suggesting the Welshman is currently insisting Real stick to the remaining three years of a contract extension he signed in 2016 which is thought to be worth a jaw-dropping £350,000 a week.
The hero of the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League final, where Bale hit the headlines with an acrobatic bicycle-kick goal, the Welsh wizard had arrived at Real Madrid in 2013 for a-then world record fee of a reported €100 million. Persistent injuries and a lack of form has seen him start only 27 games this season in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and providing 5 assists. A dismal 207 minutes per goal ratio is a measure of how far the 29-year-old has fallen, with his electric pace having taken a hit with increasing age.
