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Like clockwork or a Pavlovian response, Eden Hazard-to-Real Madrid rumors returned en masse this morning. Gee, I wonder if they have anything to do with Hazard's tournament-best individual performance against Hungary a few days ago?
This one's got all the classic buzzwords. Chelsea are bracing themselves. Chelsea are also keen on certain things. Zidane of course is very keen, too. Huge stars, massive bids, supermassive superstars, cats, dogs, mass hysteria. Oh, and did I mention that it's a swap deal? But of course it is. Swap deals make for the best transfer stories.
The details, as originally crafted with loving care by the Daily Mirror, are as follows: Real Madrid are willing to offer cash plus Alvaro Morata for Hazard. The cash portion is supposedly around £35m, while Morata is valued at £40m, which means that Hazard's valuation is £75m. (Fair-ish, I suppose?) The rumor gets even juicier when James Rodriguez gets thrown in as a real person instead of the cash portion, making this a two-fer as far as Chelsea would be concerned. Hazard for Morata and Silent James. In a world where swap deals almost never happen, that might just break the Internet.
That said, this isn't happening. We can only go down this road so many times. Nice try, everyone. Back to the drawing board.