Former England striker Chris Sutton believes that Chelsea could be headed for disaster if star midfielder Eden Hazard is sold before the transfer window closes this week.
The Blues have not been particularly busy this summer despite their underwhelming performances last season, with their only notable signing being that of Jorginho following the appointment of Maurizio Sarri as head coach in place of Antonio Conte.
In addition to this, the futures of a number of players, including Willian, Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard have been subject to intense speculation. The Belgian duo have been strongly linked with Spanish giants Real Madrid, who are looking for a dynamic player to replace Cristiano Ronaldo and a star keeper to replace Keylor Navas as their number one.
The Blues started off their season on a bad note as they fell to a 2-0 defeat in the Community Shield on Sunday without the services of Hazard and Courtois. Sarri’s men never really looked like a threat to the reigning Premier League champions and the scoreline could have been much worse had second-choice goalkeeper Willy Caballero not had a fine afternoon.
Former Chelsea striker Sutton believes that the Blues “have got no chance” of winning any silverware this season if Hazard does depart. The pundit said, as reported by The Sun: “If they let Hazard go they’re finished, they’ve got no chance this season… [Thibaut] Courtois, that situation still seems to be up in the air and needs to be resolved, as do a lot of things.”
While Hazard has yet to sign a new contract and is said to be keen on moving to the Santiago Bernabeu, his current contract at Stamford Bridge is set to expire in 2020. This means that the Blues do not need to sell him immediately.
It will be very difficult to find a good replacement for the influential winger at this point of the transfer window so Sarri would be making a disastrous decision if he lets Hazard go now.
The situation with Courtois is a bit trickier. The 26-year-old has just a year remaining on his contract with the club and does not appear to be keen at all on staying. If he is not sold before the transfer window shuts, he will have to be sold very cheaply in January or be lost for nothing next summer.
