London: Chelsea will resume contract talks with Eden Hazard in the new year and are aiming to make it second-time lucky by signing Ross Barkley from Everton in January.
Hazard’s father Thierry cast doubt over his son’s Chelsea future by claiming he had rejected a contract offer while he waits to see if Real Madrid bid for him.
But Chelsea are yet to make Hazard a firm contract offer, despite holding talks over a new deal for their star player, whose current deal runs to 2020.
Negotiations will reopen in the new year, when Chelsea will make Hazard an offer in excess of 300,000 pounds a week in the hope that he recommits himself to the club past 2020.
“If you are in a great club and you trust in the club and the ambition of the club, I think it’s right to stay,” said head coach Antonio Conte.
Hazard’s situation is less pressing than that of Thibaut Courtois, who Chelsea have offered to make the best paid goalkeeper in the world with a new contract worth over 200,000 a week pounds.
Courtois will only have a year remaining on his current deal at the end of this season, which is why Chelsea are hoping to reach an agreement with him next month.
There is also the January transfer window for Chelsea to get through before they focus all of their energy on agreeing a new contract with Hazard.
Conte has reiterated the fact that he is not in control of Chelsea’s transfer business, but that should not stop the club being active, nor should the news that the club made an operating loss for the year they were out of the Champions League. Although the figure of their loss has not been disclosed in the latest set of financial results, Chelsea managed to pull themselves back into the black thanks to the 60-million pounds sale of Oscar last January.
Oscar’s departure to Shanghai SIPG contributed to a profit on player trading of 69.2 million pounds, which helped Chelsea report an overall profit of 15.3 million pounds for the year ended June 30 2017. Chelsea’s turnover increased 9.8 per cent from 329.1 million pounds to 361.3 million pounds thanks to a greater share of the Premier League broadcast revenue as a result of winning the title.
Chelsea have renewed their interest in Barkley, who turned down a move on the final day of the summer transfer window because he wanted to get himself fit before making a decision over his future. The midfielder, who is yet to play for Everton this season, is nearing a full recovery from his hamstring injury and will be out of contract in the summer.
Tottenham Hotspur have also been tracking Barkley, but are more inclined to wait for him to become a free agent before making a move. There is still time for Spurs to change their approach and seriously rival Chelsea this month, but the Blues have moved into the driving seat over Barkley.
It is believed both Everton and Chelsea would rather settle Barkley’s future before the final days of the January transfer window after the saga ran the length of the summer.
Other than Barkley, Chelsea are interested in Monaco’s Thomas Lemar, although the Ligue 1 club have insisted that the France international will stay put until the summer.
Conte wants to strengthen the left side of his squad and remains a big fan of Juventus wantaway full-back Alex Sandro, who is also on Manchester United’s radar, while Chelsea continue to be linked with Porto’s Alex Telles.
— The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2017
