We won’t know whether Eden Hazard will remain a Chelsea player until he comes back from his extended leave of absence after fulfilling his national team World Cup assignment. Until then, there’s plenty of time to speculate.
Chelsea needs to brace for impact
Although most Chelsea fans hope Maurizio Sarri will be able to pull off a miracle by convincing Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard to stay in London, the rest of the football world anticipates the Belgian duo to wear Real Madrid’s white jerseys next season. The entire situation puts Chelsea in a bit of a pickle.
Selling Hazard and Courtois before buying their replacements would be the optimal second option (the best option is to keep them on the roster). However, The Blues can’t really afford to wait because, by the time those two make their decisions, the cream of the crop could be off the transfer market. Investing into new players beforehand is a risky move, but one Roman Abramovich might be forced to make.
Anthony Martial is the new Memphis Depay
A few years back, Manchester United bought one of the most talented footballers on the continent Memphis Depay only to have him sit on the bench for three forgettable seasons. The Dutchman saw he had no future in Manchester and requested a transfer. Lyon may seem like a step down to some, but for Depay it was a move which resurrected his career.
Anthony Martial is the player who inherited Depay’s place on the bench at United. He, too, is in a position where he needs to find another club in order to avoid putting his promising career in peril. Jose Mourinho doesn’t want to let Martial go and neither does executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who even plans to trigger a clause in the Frenchman’s contract which would extend it for 12 months and raise his market value. The Portuguese manager expects Martial to be a member of the starting lineup come opening day, as Rashford’s and Lingard’s late arrival won’t allow them to be physically fit in time for season’s start.
Anthony Martial is determined to leave, so much so that he left the club’s U.S. tour to be with his wife, who is due to give birth, just two hours before kick-off time. He reportedly wasn’t given permission to leave and is not expected to return, further complicating the issue.
Jose Mourinho is a roadblock but Chelsea has a glimmer of hope
This gives Chelsea a perfect chance to come in and scoop up the 22-year-old. There’s one “small” problem, though – Jose Mourinho. The relationship between him and Chelsea did not end well, so if there’s any club he wouldn’t sell Martial too, it would be his former club. Mourinho has even said Martial would be sold only to teams outside the Premier League. That makes Chelsea’s quest to sign Hazard’s perfect replacement much more difficult. The one advantage The Blues have is the fact Anthony Martial wants to leave. They should latch onto that tiny glimmer of hope and turn into reality before another club steps in and steals him.
