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Chelsea are ahead of Newcastle United in the race to sign Real Madrid star Eden Hazard, according to Todo Fichajes (h/t CaughtOffside).
The Belgium international left the Blues in 2019 to join Madrid for a transfer fee of around £103.5million, However, his time in the Spanish capital has been far from impressive.
Hazard has been plagued by injury issues and has only made 70 appearances in a little over three seasons with Los Blancos, scoring seven times and providing 11 assists. The story has been the same this season under manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Out of the Belgian's three league appearances, only one has been in the starting XI. Hazard started in Madrid's recent 4-1 win against RCD Mallorca in La Liga on September 11.
The former Lille winger is yet to score or assist this season. Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo Goes, Marco Asensio, and even makeshift right-winger Federico Valverde, are ahead of him in the pecking order at Real Madrid.
Newcastle's interest in the Belgian seems more sensible given that he would arguably be an upgrade on the options at manager Eddie Howe's disposal. For Chelsea, signing an injury-prone player into his 30s could be a risky move.
Hazard is on hefty wages at Madrid and still has two years left on his current contract at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Blues signed a world-class winger earlier this summer when Raheem Sterling swapped the Etihad for Stamford Bridge.
Thierry Henry surprised by Chelsea star's decision to stay despite Newcastle interest
According to the Metro, Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic was on the radar of both Newcastle and Manchester United this summer. However, the USA international ended up staying at the club despite not starting a single league game in August.
Pulisic came on as a substitute in Chelsea's first five Premier League games and got his first start in the 2-1 draw against West Ham United on September 3. Even then, he was substituted in the 60th minute by the now-sacked manager Thomas Tuchel.
Speaking about Pulisic's decision to stay in west London, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry told CBS Sports (h/t Metro):
"He has been at Chelsea for a very long time. I thought Christian Pulisic was going to leave. I think it was time for him to leave. But he didn’t. It’s over. That’s going to be the case up until the World Cup. He has to find a way to play. Raheem Sterling is in front of him."
Given Pulisic's importance to Gregg Berhalter's USA side, it is unlikely he will miss the FIFA World Cup in Qatar even if he doesn't start regularly for the Blues.
