Eden Hazard’s proposed transfer to Real Madrid has taken another twist
Eden Hazard’s proposed move to Real Madrid is on hold as Zinedine Zidane weighs up his options, according to Marca.
The Belgium international has spoken publicly of his desire to join Los Blancos from Chelsea at the end of the season.
Zidane returned to the Bernabeu for a second spell as manager last month, which seemed to increase the chances of Madrid acquiring Hazard this summer.
But the Frenchman, who won three Champions Leagues during his first stint in charge of the Spanish giants, is yet to green-light the move.
Zidane is a fan of Hazard but he is keen to conduct a thorough analysis of his squad and the market before drawing up a list of transfer targets.
Chelsea reportedly demanded £129m for the former Lille forward last summer, a fee which Madrid were unable to pay at the time.
The La Liga side are now willing to spend heavily after a disappointing campaign, but they will wait for Zidane’s verdict before submitting any offers for players.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Chelsea moved to within one point of the top four with a 2-1 victory over Cardiff on Sunday.
Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).