Chelsea Transfer News: Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale Swap Rumours Emerge

While Chelsea fans will have been delighted to see Eden Hazard deservedly pick up the 2015 PFA Player of the Year award, his coronation as the league’s top player may have prompted a tinge of apprehension in some. After all, the two men who won the gong before him—Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale—both set off in search of pastures new straight after.

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Indeed, according to Antony Kastrinakis of The Sun, Real Madrid are looking at landing the Belgian starlet this summer and are willing to offer Bale to Chelsea to expedite any potential deal. Here’s a look at how the two players have compared in league matches this season:

	Hazard	Bale
Apps (Sub)	33	28
Goals	13	13
Assists	8	7
Shots per Game	2.1	3.4
Key Passes per Game	2.7	1.5
Dribbles per Game	4.7	2.1

The prospect of Bale at Stamford Bridge is an undeniably enticing one for Blues fans. During his time with Chelsea’s London rivals Tottenham, the winger scorched his way around pitches up and down the country, encapsulating supporters with his blistering speed and thunderous left foot.

According to Bleacher Report’s Chelsea correspondent Garry Hayes, the former Spurs star would make the champions elect a formidable proposition:

It’s tough to disagree with that particular narrative and with Bale becoming increasingly unpopular among Madridistas—almost a third of Real fans said they would drop him in a poll with AS last month—it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see him back in the Premier League for the start of next season.

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But there’s absolutely no chance whatsoever Chelsea would entertain the notion of swapping him for Hazard. While we could split hairs over which player is currently better, Hazard is younger, he is entrenched in this Blues set-up and he is well acquainted in the bespoke methods implemented by Jose Mourinho.

As noted by Belgian football expert Kristof Terreur, the 24-year-old has repeatedly reaffirmed his desire to stay in West London too:

Mourinho also made his position on apparent interest from Los Blancos abundantly clear when asked if Hazard was worth £100 million, per BBC Sport. “Plus one of their [Real's] three best players,” he responded. “£100 million each leg—he's very young.”

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After a period of brief transition following his move from Lille in 2012, Hazard has blossomed into one of the world’s finest players. As such, it would be no surprise for the European champions to have an interest; after all, it’s Real’s modus operandi to spend big money on the most exciting emerging prospects in the game, and it’s an ethos that prompted them to pursue Bale in 2013.

But as we can see here, courtesy of Squawka Football, Hazard is now an absolutely critical player for the Blues:

As mentioned above, it’s clear he’s a player content with playing at Stamford Bridge, and Hazard provided a tangible indication of that by signing a new five-year deal with the club back in February. The Blues are one of the few teams in world football with the financial clout required to resist the advances of a club like Real too.

Not that Hazard would move anyway. His progression in the Premier League has been capped by the accolade he recently received, and under Mourinho, he’s adding further desirable attributes to his already vast skill set. Encouragingly for those of a blue persuasion, it seems certain the Belgian will go on to fulfil his staggering potential in earnest at Stamford Bridge.