Chelsea are reportedly exploring the possibility of offering Eden Hazard, a Real Madrid target, in exchange in a deal to land Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele.
If the reports from Spanish publication Don Balon are to be believed, Chelsea are exploring the idea of a deal that could send jitters in world football. The Blues are reportedly interested in Ousmane Dembele and are considering the possibility of offering Eden Hazard, who has been a Real Madrid target for long, in exchange for the Barcelona superstar.
Eden Hazard is a player that is currently, perhaps one of the most exciting players to watch in world football. The Belgian’s darting runs combined with his ability to weave through defenders like silk along with his close-control and crowd control is something that makes you sit up and take in a heavy breath every time he does the aforementioned.
At Chelsea, he has won it all and has been the main pillar of the Blues’ success after his arrival. But, his wondrous performances are bound to interest other top clubs. And while other clubs like Barcelona, Juventus, PSG and others have expressed a desire to pursue Hazard, no one’s interest has been as vocal and evident as the pursuit from Real Madrid.
At Real Madrid, Hazard has his idol managing the club. Zidane and Hazard have both expressed mutual admiration for each other, with the Chelsea talisman also not ruling out a move to the La Liga giants.
Chelsea plot ambitious part-exchange move for £135.5M Barcelona forward – Chelsea consider offering Eden Hazard in exchange for Ousmane Dembele. Barcelona paid £135.5M for Dembele in the summer. READ MORE: Revealed: Chelsea’s five-man January striker … https://t.co/cqsNRNAPiR
— ChelseaFan12 (@Fan12Chelsea) January 21, 2018
Real Madrid do not have many players of similar calibre to pursue in order to bring in the next era of superstars, with Cristiano Ronaldo already 32 while Gareth Bale has been frustrating the club and the fans with his regular bouts with fitness issues. But, there could be a major twist in the tale, with Chelsea eyeing a move for Barcelona superstar Ousmane Dembele.
Ousmane Dembele’s Barcelona career did not get off to the best of starts, with the player succumbing to a long-term injury – an injury he has only recently come back from. The Catalans have already signed Coutinho and seems to be eyeing a summer move for Thomas Lemar.
In such a scenario, Dembele could have too much competition for his place at Barcelona, something that Chelsea are looking to take advantage of. The Catalans are likely to be also seeking a long-term replacement for Lionel Messi, who, despite his prodigious ability, isn’t getting any younger.
And no player comes closer to Messi in terms of dribbling ability and skillset as the Chelsea superstar, who could look at this as a rare opportunity to team up with the Argentine, which could see him snub Real Madrid.
While Real Madrid seems to be his preferred choice, it looks like a major portion of that is due to Zinedine Zidane’s presence at the Bernabeu. And with the manager’s position under threat as of late, Hazard could take up the option of moving to Barcelona if Zidane does depart.
As far as Dembele is concerned, a chance to move to the illustrious Premier League and become one of the cornerstones for Chelsea could entice him, especially if the competition for places at Barcelona increases beyond a certain threshold.
As frightening as it looks for Real Madrid right now, this deal could make it worse. Barcelona seem poised to win the La Liga this season and Eden Hazard’s potential arrival in the summer could just see the dawn of a new era of Catalan dominance in Spain, and perhaps, Europe as well.
