Long time Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has now moved on to Real Madrid, and during his product rollout yesterday he said it would be fantastic if Eden Hazard joined him at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
That said, Hazard is staying put this summer, it’s pretty much a certainty. The chances of him leaving between now and the end of the month are so tiny it’s almost not even worth discussing; almost.
“Hazard is with us,” Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri said Friday ahead of his side’s season opener against Huddersfield Town tomorrow.
“I have spoken with him three, four times for everything & he never said something about the market. He’s very happy to stay here. I think it’s impossible (to sell him now and find a replacement) because here the market is closed, so we can’t change such important players now.”
So that puts the Eden Hazard to Real Madrid transfer talk to bed for this summer, but next year?
One year from now, Hazard will be on his way to the final year of his current Chelsea deal, and then perhaps a switch could happen, but we’ll worry about that next summer transfer window. During today’s media session Sarri was also able to give his final goodbyes to Courtois.
“I’m very happy for both because Courtois’ situation was clear. He wanted to go to Madrid so we lost maybe one of the most important goalkeepers in the world.,” the Italian boss added. “But we bought a young goalkeeper, one of the most important among the young goalkeepers in Europe, so I’m really happy.”
The first year Blues boss also commented on the player they acquired from Madrid in the deal, loanee midfielder Mateo Kovacic:
“[Also] for Kovacic, because he has the right characteristics for us. He is a very technical player who can play between the lines of the opponent. For us that could be very important.”
RELATED: go here for the analysis, recap, breakdown and grade of Chelsea’s transfer window
Finally, Sarri said his team’s roster is full for 2018-19, except for some dead wood that still needs to be jettisoned.
“I’m very happy and now I think the squad is complete,” Sarri continued.
“Now I think the squad is too large, so I think some players have to go on loan, but I don’t know who at the moment. I prefer to have 23, 24 players, and three or four very young players. No more.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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