Vandamme (not the "actor") speaks about Eden Hazard

Jean-Michel Vandamme better have an unlimited package from his wireless carrier. The sporting director at Lille currently has one of the hottest young prospects in Europe on his books in the form of young Belgian Eden Hazard. Hazard was the best player in Ligue 1 last season as Lille powered to the title and a place in the group stages of the Champions League. He's subsequently been a very popular name around the rumor mill as it's pretty clear his future lies at a bigger club than Lille in a bigger league than France currently has. Vandamme did nothing to quench the fire in an interview with the Italian press today. When asked about the possibility of Hazard moving in January, Vandamme responded with the following:

If we can find someone willing to make a significant offer and willing to wait until June we may also find an agreement

Asked about what would constitute significant he responded:

I think a player like Hazard is easily worth at least 40 million Euros

While that is a lot of scratch, it really doesn't seem to be out of line with what the market has been dictating lately. At that price it would seem to preclude all but a handful of Europe's top clubs from legitimately bidding on Hazard's services going forward (sorry Arsenal fans, maybe you can afford Kalou).

We know Chelsea has interest in the player, and we know Chelsea have that type of money to spend. We also know that Hazard fits the exact mold of player whom Chelsea are looking to buy. Between he and Lucas Moura it really does appear that Chelsea will be in pretty good shape to land a young versatile attacker capable of playing centrally or on the wing, something that would really go a long way in rounding out this squad. I'm sure the media are going to run wild with these quotes today, but please take a second to reflect on them for what they are. Lille clearly know that they are nearing the point where they need to cash in on Hazard and are simply trying to drum up a market. It won't be as simple as calling Vandamme and meeting his asking price...like the Mata and Pastore situations last summer we'd have to satisfy the player as well. That said, Chelsea seem as likely a final destination as any so there is plenty of reason for hope...