The charm offensive for Eden Hazard faded into the background for Chelsea in recent weeks. He is waiting on Real Madrid and it is no surprise.
If Kristof Terreur speaks about a Belgium player, as he did with Sky Sports, his words should be taken as complete gospel. Even if he is just making an intuition based point, he is doing so from a basis of knowledge far more complete than anyone’s.
According to Terreur, Hazard has turned down two contract offers and is stalling on anymore. Hazard, Terreur believes, is waiting on Real Madrid to make a move. If they do not, Hazard is happy to stay with Chelsea. But the implication is that if Real Madrid says jump, Hazard will jump.
And this should really be one of the least surprising things. Chelsea has tried to hold on to Hazard but there seems to be a belief now that the situation is out of their hands. The Blues have made their moves and they need to prepare for the eventuality of Hazard leaving just as much as the eventuality of Hazard staying.
If Hazard stays, the knock down effects will depend on whether or not he is a striker or winger. If Hazard is a winger, that will only leave one free wing spot for Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Willian, Pedro, and anyone else the club brings in. Pedro and Willian may go on the chopping block due to their age, but the real worry should be around Hudson-Odoi.
If Hazard is a winger, and there is only one wing spot left, Hudson-Odoi will have an uphill battle. And simply because of that, he may force a move. The club spent big on Pulisic and he has plenty of experience for a 20 year old, so he could block off Hudson-Odoi in the event that Hazard stays. Unless Pedro and Willian clear out, Hudson-Odoi might be the first out the door if Hazard is a winger.
If Hazard is kept as a striker, the wing situation is alleviated. Of course, there are many question marks over Hazard as a striker. Up top, his influence on the match is greatly lessened. It might make the club defensively stronger, but offensively they lose an edge (especially if Hazard is not up to it that match).
Of course, the obvious question if Hazard leaves is how Chelsea copes with the loss. There is a sense, rightly or wrongly, that Chelsea is bailed out by Hazard more often than not. Tied to that is this belief that Chelsea is somehow a midtable team if they lose Hazard.
That notion usually starts conversations as to who can replace Hazard. Many usually list wingers because Hazard himself is a winger. But Chelsea can get more creative with the transfer fee for Hazard than a like for like.
If the club can hold on to Hudson-Odoi, he can take one wing and Pulisic can take the other with Willian and Pedro as mentors/depth. There will be growing pains of course, but long term that may be the better plan. But how does that replace Hazard?
If Chelsea splits the Hazard fee into two, they can buy two world class players. A striker would be a must in that situation and a goal scoring midfielder would be the rest of the pile of cash. If Hazard can be replaced by a 20 plus goal striker and a 20 goal plus assist midfielder, Chelsea could survive the growing pains of Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic.
Regardless, the club needs to prepare for Hazard’s decision whatever it may be. A simple phone call from Real Madrid seems to be the only thing required to get him to depart. The knock down effects of him staying and going need to be analyzed and planned for as Chelsea looks to the future.