Chelsea Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Eden Hazard and Leonardo Bonucci

Chelsea could reportedly be prepared to offer star winger Eden Hazard to Juventus as part of a deal to sign centre-back Leonardo Bonucci.

According to Alvise Cagnazzo in the Sun, Bonucci is Blues boss Antonio Conte's No. 1 target as he looks to shore up his back line, and Chelsea are hoping they can tempt Juve into selling the Italy international by offering Hazard in part-exchange.

Cagnazzo previously reported that the Old Lady would be prepared to let Bonucci, 29, move to Stamford Bridge in exchange for Cesc Fabregas and "a record sum of money for a defender."

Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri would still rather sign the Spaniard, but Chelsea want to include Hazard—who, at 25, is worth more than 29-year-old Fabregas—in the deal instead in order to reduce the amount of cash they would have to pay the Serie A giants.

Per Alistair Tweedale in the Telegraph, Bonucci is valued at £60 million by Juventus, so Chelsea will have to smash the world-record fee for a defender—currently the £50 million Paris Saint-Germain paid the Blues for David Luiz in 2014—in order to sign him.

However, he could well be worth the money, as Chelsea desperately need added quality in their back line at the moment, per Bleacher Report:

Despite re-signing Luiz at the end of the summer transfer window, Chelsea remain over-reliant in defence on 35-year-old captain John Terry, who is injured at the moment.

The Englishman's career is rapidly nearing its end and a long-term replacement for him to be Chelsea's stalwart in defence is desperately needed, as neither Luiz nor Gary Cahill can adequately fill the role.

Bonucci would be the perfect replacement, as he is immensely experienced, has worked with Conte previously at Juventus and is comfortable on the ball as well as rock solid defensively.

Previously, the idea of selling Hazard in exchange for any player would have been questionable.

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Per Cagnazzo, he was linked with a big-money move to Real Madrid and PSG after winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2015.

However, the Belgian had a shocking season in 2015-16 and is arguably expendable if his departure would secure the capture of Bonucci.

The same could also be said of Fabregas who, having been excellent as Chelsea won the Premier League in 2014-15, was poor last term and has been unable to claim a regular starting spot under Conte. He's made just one Premier League start in the new campaign so far, per WhoScored.com.

Juventus' demands if they are to part with Bonucci will be considerable, but such is Chelsea's need for defensive reinforcements, they should be prepared to meet them. 

The Blues' ageing defence has been a problem for some time, and given recent form, Bonucci would bring a lot more to Conte's side than Hazard or Fabregas currently are.