Real Madrid are reportedly set to call off their summer move for Chelsea forward Eden Hazard.
According the a report in The Sun, Eden Hazard’s reported move to Real Madrid is anything but a reality as Los Blancos are set to cool off their interest in the Chelsea forward, in order to allow Spanish youngster Marco Asensio to develop.
Hazard has been the bedrock of Chelsea’s success in recent years, and has led the Blues’ charge for Premier League and FA Cup glory yet again in the current campaign, after enduring a tough season in 2015/16, when the West London club crumbled to 10th in the table.
Set to enjoy his best ever season in the English top flight, Hazard has scored 14 goals in addition to providing 5 assists 30 appearances, and has often been Antonio Conte’s go-to man to make the difference.
Having rediscovered his best form this season, it is unsurprising that one of the best clubs in Europe, Real Madrid have been linked with a summer move for Hazard, with recent reports claiming that Los Blancos are ready to splash the cash in order to land him at the Santiago Bernabeu.
With Karim Benzema struggling to match the heights of previous seasons, and Alvaro Morata being out of favour with Zinedine Zidane, the duo are being linked with a summer departure from Real Madrid.
With a space in the first team likely to open up in the summer, Hazard has been identified as just the right player to become a long-term solution in attack. Meanwhile, certain reports have also suggested that Chelsea are willing to make Hazard the best paid player in the Premier League in order tie him up to a long-term deal at Stamford Bridge.
However, if the report by The Sun is to be believed, Chelsea could be set to keep hold of Hazard without needing to do that, as Real Madrid are set to make a U-turn on the move to sign the Belgian, with Zidane likely to put his trust in young Spaniard Marco Asensio instead.
Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
The 21-year-old has finally managed to become a regular in the first-team setup at the Bernabeu this season, and has left the Real Madrid boss impressed even though the majority of his 30 appearances in the current campaign have come from the bench.
A player with a fantastic dribbling ability, Asensio has often been a menace for opposition defenders, a quality that hasn’t gone unnoticed on Zidane. His stellar performances have also seen him attract attention from a host of top clubs across Europe, but it looks like Real Madrid will not let him go for any amount in the summer.
Asensio has now been earmarked by the Real Madrid hierarchy as a future ‘Galactico’, a tag that was reportedly placed on Hazard for a long time, and with Zidane keen to see the player continue his rapid development next season, it looks highly likely that Chelsea will be able to keep hold of their prized asset in the summer.
