Eden Hazard exit rumours return in full force after Chelsea lose again to Manchester City

The hours after Chelsea’s worrying defeat to Manchester City last weekend have been nothing short of fatalistic, with the doom and gloom that hung heavy from the defeat to United the weekend creeping further into our very core. And to seize on the myriad of negativity, reports are now flooding in to put a check on Eden Hazard’s chances of staying at the club.

As they are prone to do in their general journalism, the Daily Mail’s tone in their reporting seems to be straight out of a doomsday catastrophe. According to the newspaper, Eden "will agitate" for a Chelsea exit in case Real Madrid’s interest on his services turn concrete in the summer — only rumored for the last six years! — as he hopes he gets to play under the guidance of Madrid manager and childhood idol Zinedine Zidane (who may yet get sacked before Conte). To make matters worse, the Mail claims the Belgian is already stalling on talks over putting pen to paper on an extension to his contract with the club, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois hoping he can follow Eden on his way out.

The Telegraph’s report is a bit more contained, but no less doomsday-sy. As per Chelsea’s mouthpiece Matt Law, Eden’s teammates are worried that Antonio Conte’s ‘safety first’ tactics may lead to his exit from the club — how very narrative-ish of them! — in light of his post-match interview voicing some criticisms at the game plan employed by the manager in the match-up versus City.

It is certainly tempting to keep stoking the flame of pessimism surrounding the club, but at the end of the day, these are still nothing that we hadn’t heard before, when Hazard had stayed, despite, for example, finishing 10th two years ago. However this season ends up for Chelsea, Hazard (and others) should not be shirking from the challenge of returning Chelsea to previous glories next season. If they are, they won’t be useful anway.