Real Madrid Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Antoine Griezmann and Eden Hazard

Real Madrid have reportedly formed a "secret plan" to sign Antoine Griezmann in 2018 following the intended recruitment of Eden Hazard this summer.

L'Equipe's Frederic Hermel (h/t Uche Amako of the Express) reported as much, with Atletico Madrid's Griezmann identified as a long-term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Per Amako, Griezmann's adviser Eric Olhats recently spoke to RMC Sport and dismissed a move to Los Blancos: "It's impossible. There's a non-aggression pact. There's a deal between the two clubs that does not touch each other. It's not on the agenda. Between the two clubs, there's something that's been around for a long time."

However, Real will break the pact in their pursuit of Theo Hernandez this summer, per Marca. Should Real sign him and end the gentleman's agreement, it could mean they would be willing to pursue Griezmann as well.

As reported by RMC Sport's Mohamed Bouhafsi, they are just one of several top teams interested in the Frenchman:

Ronaldo is 32, so while he signed a five-year contract in November, it is wise of Madrid to start preparing for his succession in the next year or two, and Hazard and Griezmann would be excellent candidates in that regard.

The former has enjoyed a much-improved season for Chelsea after a disappointing campaign last year, and he has 13 goals and six assists to his name in all competitions. 

As Squawka Football demonstrated, Hazard is an exceptional dribbler and supremely creative to boot:

While he's nowhere near as prolific as Ronaldo, he'd make up for scoring fewer goals by providing plenty of ammunition to Real's other attacking stars—including the Portuguese talisman himself.

As for Griezmann, he would go some way to replicating Ronaldo's output—the striker isn't a goal machine like the 32-year-old, but he has scored 79 goals in under three seasons with Atletico.

Griezmann has 22 this year, along with 11 assists. His most recent strike helped Los Rojiblancos to a 3-1 win over Sevilla, via Sky Sports La Liga:

While it's unlikely any player could truly replace Ronaldo, either Hazard or Griezmann would be a strong candidate to take the club forward as the Portuguese gets older and eventually retires.

Signing both in the next two summer transfer windows would be sensational and give Los Blancos an even more potent attacking force than they already possess.

The pair will be costly, and both Chelsea and Atletico will likely do everything in their power to resist Real, so the plan is far from guaranteed to come to fruition.