Player of the Year (in multiple guises) Eden Hazard has declared that the arrival of Christian Benteke at Chelsea FC would make him ‘the happiest man in the world’.
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Hazard is currently on international duty with the Aston Villa forward and he made his feelings clear when speaking to the press ahead of Belgium’s friendly against France on Sunday.
‘If Christian signs with us, I would be the happiest man in the world,’ said Hazard.
‘I have a great relationship with him and would like nothing better than to play with him.’
The 25 year old striker has been the subject of much transfer speculation so far this summer. Having joined Villa in August 2012 for a reported fee of £8 million, Benteke has impressed in his three seasons there hitting the back of the net 42 times in 89 league appearances.
Despite a poor start to the 2014/15 campaign, the 6ft 2in forward found his form when Tim Sherwood took charge of the club, scoring an incredible 11 league goals in the 13 games that Sherwood oversaw. This form has made him hot property on the transfer market, and Benteke himself has even admitted that he is unsure whether he’ll be with Villa next season.
Hazard, meanwhile, appears to be trying (directly and/or indirectly) to influence Benteke’s decision.
‘Christian is 25. He is at an age where he has to make a good career choice.
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‘Not that Aston Villa is a small club but he has already played many great games and can now play in the Champions League.’
With Drogba having left the club (and potentially en route to Marseille), Benteke could easily be a like-for-like replacement for big Ivorian, with both players bringing a similar style of target man forward play to the table. Furhtermore, with rumours swirling that Diego Costa also wants to call it quits at Stamford Bridge and return to Atlético Madrid, the Blues need to seriously do some business in the striker market.
However, the Belgian is not likely to come cheap as the buy-out clause on his current contract is reportedly £32.5 million. While Benteke’s intention to leave may force Villa to accept a lower bid, the fact that he still has two years left to run on his deal coupled with significant interest from several other clubs means that the actual fee may not be far from it.
Now that Hazard has had his say, what do you guys think? Would Benteke be a good signing to help push the Blues towards their 2nd European Cup? How much would you be willing to pay Villa to secure his services? Sound off in the comments below!
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