Eden Hazard enters new contract talks with Chelsea amid new Real Madrid rumors — report

This one comes from The Guardian’s Spanish football correspondent Sid Lowe, who basically recaps the Eden Hazard (and Thibaut Courtois) to Real Madrid rumors in his weekly column. So it’s largely stuff we have mulled over multiple times not just in the past few months but in the past few years (especially in Hazard’s case) — i.e. Madrid “believe” that Hazard & Courtois would be open to a move despite public utterances to the contrary — but there’s a line in there that seems to be a new wrinkle in the situation.

Hazard is in negotiations over a new contract with Chelsea and, although that concerns Madrid, they believe he would welcome a move. He has three seasons left on his deal and the Spanish club are keen for him to not extend that.

-source: Guardian

We had already heard about Courtois (and Costa) starting talks over new contracts, but Hazard’s current deal has an extra year on it compared to those two, so there had been no rush to get new talks started. Perhaps it’s just a response to these continuing rumors. (Not that the previous extension helped stem the tide.)

Either way, that’s the latest on the Courtois/Hazard-to-Real situation, which is to say, it’s the same as it’s ever been. Real Madrid want the best of the best; Hazard and Courtois are two of the best of the best; Hazard and Courtois are ours, and they can’t have them. The end.