Brazilian winger Willian insists his fellow Chelsea forward Eden Hazard is only concentrating on the task at hand at the west London club and is not discussing a probable transfer to Real Madrid.
As Zinedine Zidane returned to Real Madrid as manager this week following the sacking of Santiago Solari, Hazard’s name has once again graced the rumour mill regarding a possible move to the Spanish capital.
Hazard has professed his dream of playing for Real before while also naming Zidane as his childhood idol and his refusal to sign a new deal at Chelsea, with his current contract expiring in the summer of 2020, was widely understood as a sign that he wants to keep his options open – especially with Madrid maintaining heavy interest in him. Moreover, the Chelsea talisman has earlier revealed he has already made a decision on his future although he is still waiting for the right moment to make it public.
Yet despite the resurfacing of rumours regarding Madrid’s interest in the Belgian winger, his teammate Willian insists the 28-year-old former Lille forward only has his mind set on attaining Chelsea’s targets for the season.
“No doubt, he’s focussed here. He’s never said something about Real Madrid or stuff like this. He just wants to continue to play for Chelsea,” said the Brazil international.
Willian, however, refrained from ruling out a potential exit from west London for Hazard. While the Brazilian international expressed his wish for the Belgian superstar to ignore the advances of Real Madrid and stay at Stamford Bridge beyond his current contract, he acknowledged that nobody can predict the future, especially in the sport.
“First of all, I hope he stays with us. But in football you never know what can happen,” added Willian.
“Of course, Eden is a fantastic player, one of the best players in the world. He’s my friend, one of the best players I’ve played with in my whole career.
“I just have to say I hope he stays with us. That’s it.”
