Despite buyout clause, Chelsea face uphill battle to re-acquire Thorgan Hazard -- report

A potential return to Chelsea for Thorgan Hazard was hot news about a month ago, especially as rumors of a buy-back clause expiring in December started making the rounds.  When Chelsea sold Eden's younger brother to Borussia Monchengladbach, the existence of a buy-back was confirmed, but no further details were provided.  A few days later, Gladbach director Max Eberl denied any such clause, and that sort of put an end to those stories.

Until now.

Chelsea has made Hazard a priority for the next transfer window in January but looks like they have a lot to do to convince Hazard to leave.

— Philip Harmeling (@PhilipHarmeling) November 2, 2016

According Journalist Philip Harmeling, Chelsea have made re-acquiring Thorgan Hazard a priority for the January transfer window.  (Why? Who knows.)

There's no mention of a buy-back, but there is mention of a buy-out, to the tune of around 20m.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how much you rate the second of the Hazards), it sounds like Thorgan himself wouldn't be keen on the move.  He was previous non-committal, saying that he'll let Gladbach and Chelsea sort this all out, but perhaps he's changed his mind.  His path to first-team minutes is certainly easier at Gladbach at the moment.

@Facosh Hazard signed permanently at BMG because he's an important piece in the team, he wouldn't get any time play at Chelsea.

— Philip Harmeling (@PhilipHarmeling) November 2, 2016

Still, something to keep an eye on as we get closer to the transfer window.