Real Madrid manager Zinidine Zidane has called Eden Hazard in an attempt to convince the Chelsea star to move to the Bernabeu next summer, according to reports in The Sun.
The 26-year-old has been in sensational form for The Blues so far this season, scoring eight goals and providing three assists in just 13 appearances.
As we said here, one of the main reasons for Hazard’s excellent recent form has been the extra freedom he is enjoying since his manager Antonio Conte moved him into a more central role.
The Belgian international has two and a half years left on his current contract with Chelsea, and the club are desperate to keep him. Hazard has been offered an extended contract worth a reported £300,000 per week, but he is stalling on that deal in the hope of making a move to Real.
Although the talented attacker is happy with life in London, he is said to feel the opportunity to work with his childhood hero Zidane would be too tempting to turn down.
Real are currently struggling in La Liga and sit in fourth position, eight points behind arch-rivals Barcelona. The Spanish club’s president Florentino Perez wants to offload Gareth Bale in the summer, and sees Hazard as the perfect replacement.
Of course, if Real are to get their way and sign the mercurial playmaker they will have to pay Chelsea upward of £100 million for a player, who at 26, is surely about to enter his prime.