The ongoing transfer story of the summer linked Eden Hazard with Real Madrid, a rumour that gained pace when his international team-mate Thibaut Courtois made the switch to the Spanish capital. However, with just a week and a half left of the La Liga window, Hazard looks to be staying put until January at least when Los Blancos will probably renew their interest in an attempt to unsettle the Belgium star.
Midfielder Mateo Kovacic aims to hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge following his loan move from Real Madrid.
Thibaut Courtois certainly won’t have any friends left in West London on the back of his £35 million to Real Madrid on deadline day. Not only did the World Cup Golden Glove winner show a lack of respect towards the club but also the fans with some behaviour that doesn’t reciprocate the love he was shown during his time with the Blues.
New Chelsea signing Mateo Kovacic has admitted he sought advice from Luka Modric, who played for Tottenham Hotspur as a midfielder, regarding the England top-flight as well as life in London.
One of the ongoing transfer sagas of this summer has been Real Madrid’s reported pursuit of Eden Hazard from Chelsea and as that looks to have petered out, Los Blancos are supposedly interested in bringing one of his team-mates to the Bernabeu.
Cesc Fabregas has revealed his efforts in convincing Eden Hazard to rebuff the advances of Real Madrid and stay at Stamford Bridge.
Despite only managing a third-place finish at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Belgium were considered as many by the tournament’s best performers. Amongst their squad, which included a core of Premier League stars, Eden Hazard was the stand-out player eventually coming second behind Luka Modric in the hunt for the World Cup Golden Ball.
After winning his third consecutive Champions League winners’ medal, Zinedine Zidane shocked the footballing world by resigning just five days after Los Blancos’ 3-1 victory over Liverpool in Kiev. Arsene Wenger and Mauricio Pochettino were the original front-runners but with both managers ruling themselves out, the Spanish giants turned to Antonio Conte.
Speculation linking Robert Lewandowski to Chelsea has intensified this week, with reports suggesting the Poland international could be heading to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has admitted that he is “certain” to return to Madrid one day – and it is looking increasingly likely that it will happen at the end of the season.
Real Madrid are sensationally set to offer Chelsea the services of Welsh international winger Gareth Bale as part of a swap deal for long-time target Eden Hazard.
Eden Hazard has rejected a fresh contract extension at Chelsea in an attempt to engineer a move to Real Madrid, the star’s father has revealed.
As we get ever closer to the Premier League’s busy festive schedule, it also means the January transfer window will be returning. One top-flight side who usually do plenty of business in January is Chelsea and they are often linked with some of the world’s top players. This season looks like it will be no different and this time, it’s Real Madrid youngster, Marco Asensio. The Spanish midfielder has reportedly kicked up a fuss about his lack of playing time at the Santiago Bernabeu and will join the Blues if his demands of more time on the pitch aren’t met at Real Madrid.
Chelsea have already lost star striker Diego Costa in the last few months and could be about to lose David Luiz, both due to public bust-ups with Antonio Conte. However, the Blues could be on the verge of being forced into the sale of another key player; a transfer that won’t be because of their Italian boss.
On his day, you would be pushed to find a better player in the Premier League than Eden Hazard. The Belgian winger signed for Chelsea back in the summer of 2012 for £32 million and ever since he made the decision to sign for the then-Champions League holders, there has been apparent interest from Real Madrid.
Former Blues’ striker Fernando Torres has praised Alvaro Morata’s strong start to life at Stamford Bridge, proclaiming the Chelsea forward to be “one of the best” in the world.
The astronomical wages earned by footballers is a topic that is subject to countless debate. Are our favourite athletes being overpaid for kicking a ball around a pitch? Or are they being justly rewarded for helping entertain and unite millions of people around the world, as well as generating big business for their clubs?
The Premier League was once again the heaviest-spending league in world football this summer, as clubs from England went on to spend a combined total of £1.43 billion on bolstering their sides.
Serie A clubs have also dug deep over the last few months, with a total spend of £735 million. AC Milan, in particular, spent heavily as they seek to re-establish themselves as giants of Italian football; they signed Leonardo Bonucci for a whopping £37.30 million.
Below are the most expensive players of the summer transfer window 2017. Although these sums of money may seem enormous, as the fees sides pay become perpetually higher, there are bound to be players that cost significantly more over the coming years.
Mendy was a surprise package for Monaco last season as they went on to surprisingly win the French Ligue 1 and qualified for the quarter finals of the Champions League. Pep Guardiola knows that he will need to win silverware this season with City or he could risk being sacked and so brought the left back to his side to improve their trophy chances.
With Diego Costa having being deemed to surplus to requirements by Antonio Conte during the summer, Chelsea needed a new main striker for this season and they opted to sign Spanish international Morata from Real Madrid.
Lukaku made clear his desire to leave Everton and play in the Champions League this season. His wish was eventually granted as he joined United this summer. This was also the most expensive transfer to take place in the English Premier League. The Belgian will be expected to spearhead United’s attack.
Barcelona desperately needed to bolster their attack after losing Neymar to PSG. They opted to recruit Dembele from Dortmund, who is arguably one of the best up-and-coming talents in world football.
Cash-rich Paris St-Germain proved that they meant business by triggering Neymar’s astronomical release clause. They will hope that he can help them reach their goal of winning the Champions League.
Header image: “Neymar” (CC BY 2.0) by Doha Stadium Plus