Real Madrid have signalled their intent to secure the £100 million ($132m) summer signing of Chelsea star Eden Hazard.
Their interest in the Belgian represents the first proper contact ahead of a potential summer move.
The appointment of Hazard’s idol Zinedine Zidane as Santiago Solari’s replacement at the Bernabeu could prove decisive in making up the 28-year-old’s mind.
Hazard has already described a move to Spain’s capital as a “dream”, with Madrid having frequently been linked with the former Lille winger over the last couple of years.
Chelsea are asking for around £100m from the reigning European champions, who are aiming to get the asking price down.
Madrid are keen to maintain a positive relationship with the west London club in the negotiations, as they did in the process of securing the signing of Thibaut Courtois from the Blues in 2018.
Hazard is in a strong bargaining position over his future at Stamford Bridge as his Chelsea contact enters the final year.
With the Liga giants now stepping up their plans to sign Hazard, Chelsea are set for something of a turbulent summer.
As well as Hazard, there are also doubts over the long-term future of Callum Hudson-Odoi, who was targeted by Bayern Munich in January but was ultimately blocked from making the move to Germany.
He will also be entering the final year of his contract in summer 2019 and will likely be considering his future again as regular first-team opportunities in the Premier League under Maurizio Sarri continue to be hard to come by.
The Blues will also be hampered by the transfer ban that’s been handed to them by FIFA, which is due to begin in the summer.
Football’s world governing body rejected the Premier League club’s attempt to delay the ban, that will span two transfer windows, with Chelsea now looking to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). (AFP)
