Chelsea is probably going to lose Eden Hazard this summer. The Blues must avoid the temptation of a player swap with Real Madrid.
Hazard will almost certainly depart for Real Madrid in what is likely his last chance to do so. With only a year left on his contract, Chelsea has little wiggle room in regards to a transfer fee. Even still, the Blues (rightfully given his talent) demand at least £100 million for the Belgian.
Real Madrid do not want to pay that much for Hazard given the shortness of his contract. But unlike many players, Hazard will not force a move to the Spanish side. That weakens Madrid’s bargaining power unless they can offer a player in exchange. That in of itself requires Chelsea to be able to avoid the transfer ban but if the Blues do, the offer could be tempting.
But Chelsea should avoid the notion of almost any player swap for Hazard. There are very few players that Chelsea should consider for a swap and those players are either unlikely to be offered or there will be baggage attached. Real Madrid will try if they can but the Blues must hold fast to their asking price.
Perhaps the most immediate player that will come to mind is Mateo Kovacic. Real Madrid likely loaned Kovacic to Chelsea this season for two reasons. The first was to sweeten the Thibaut Courtois move after the Belgian goalkeeper went AWOL. The second was to grease the wheel for a potential Hazard move.
But Kovacic is a bit of an odd player. For all his talent, he is very niche when it comes to his uses. Maurizio Sarri wants him to stay (which gives Real Madrid bargaining power if it comes to it) but he does not perfectly fit into the Blues. It would take a very specific system to get the best out of Kovacic and for all his talent, Chelsea does not offer that right now.
Plus, how much would Chelsea be willing to pay for Kovacic if they did so outright? £50 million should be about the max. But would Chelsea let Hazard go for just £50 million? Almost certainly no.
After that the like for like or similar players come up but few will be available. With Zinedine Zidane back at Real Madrid, Isco and Marco Asensio are likely to stay at the club now. Vinicius Junior cost them a massive fee and they are unlikely to give up on him even for Hazard. That leaves Gareth Bale on the outs but he has been so injury prone that even if Chelsea got him for cheap, it would be hard to call the move worth it given how little he can play a season.
After that remains few players. One of Real Madrid’s fullbacks may be appealing but they are all unlikely to move. There are rumors that Raphael Varane wants a move but Chelsea would almost need to make a straight swap or pay money to make that move work.
So with almost all moves off the table, Chelsea is better off just taking the cash and doing whatever they want with it. Just as Chelsea will not be strong armed in negotiations, neither will Real Madrid.
If Los Blancos want Hazard bad enough, they will pay the price. And if they do not, then the Blues will simply have to hope that Hazard changes his mind on the contract with Real Madrid unlikely to come back again.