Chelsea Transfer News: Latest on John Stones and Eden Hazard Rumours

Chelsea will reportedly launch another bid to land Everton defender John Stones, who has drawn praise from Barcelona star Gerard Pique.

The Spaniard recently sat down with the Daily Telegraph's Jason Burt and was asked for his World Dream Team, and he included the youngster in his squad, alongside himself and Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid.

Explaining his decision, Pique said:

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Rio Ferdinand and John Terry were the two main central defenders in England. Top-level. Now I think John Stones is a really, really, good player. He will have a good career. He’s like Rio, a bit. He’s young and alongside him they probably need one who is more experienced. Jagielka is injured. But Smalling is playing well at Manchester United.

"

Stones was linked with a move to Stamford Bridge throughout the summer in one of the most eye-catching transfer sagas of 2015. Per the Daily Mail's Matt Barlow, the Blues did everything they could to bring him to west London, to no avail, and MailOnline's Simon Jones reports Chelsea will renew their efforts in January.

The news hardly comes as a surprise. While Stones continues to perform well for Everton on a weekly basis, Chelsea have endured a nightmare start to the 2015-16 campaign, particularly on the defensive end.

Jose Mourinho's squad has already conceded 23 goals in the Premier League this season―the third worst record in the competition, per WhoScored.com. Veteran centre-back John Terry is finally starting to show his age, and Gary Cahill has regressed tremendously.

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The Blues need to do something before it's too late, and a shopping spree in the January transfer window is a strong possibility. One of the top priorities will be another centre-back, and after the lengthy saga we saw during the summer, there's every chance Stones will once again be Chelsea's main target.

Stones hasn't been perfect so far this season, but for a 21-year-old who has been forced to play without Phil Jagielka by his side for a number of matches, he's been mighty impressive.

The Guardian's Barney Ronay is a fan:

From a short-term perspective, Stones may not be the best investment, as the Blues need to get better instantly and the young Stones is likely to make his share of mistakes while he adapts to playing for a club like Chelsea.

But his potential remains impressive, and paired with the equally talented Kurt Zouma, he could give the defending Premier League champions a fantastic one-two punch at the heart of the defence for years once Terry and Cahill leave the club.

Given Chelsea's poor run and clear need for another defender, expect owner Roman Abramovic to open his chequebook in January and do whatever it takes to bring Stones to Stamford Bridge. Whether he will be successful remains to be seen, but you can be sure he will at least try.

Eden Hazard Targeted in Real Madrid Overhaul?

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Sportyou's Julian Avila (h/t Daily Express' James Gray) claims Real Madrid President Florentino Perez is planning a massive overhaul of his squad, which could see Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema leave the club in favour of Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski, Manchester United's David De Gea and the Blues' Eden Hazard.

The ambitious claims come at a time when there are serious question marks about the futures of both Benzema and Ronaldo. As explained by Gray, the former is currently in the midst of a huge media storm regarding his role in a blackmail scandal, while Ronaldo has dropped some strong hints he could be open to a move in the past few weeks.

Ronaldo's brief conversation with Paris Saint-Germain manager Laurent Blanc after their UEFA Champions League clash drew the ire of the Madrid-based press, including Marca (h/t football blogger Jonas Giaever):

It seems impossible Perez would decide to drop two of his best attacking players in a single season, but the Real president does have a tendency to do some crazy things on the transfer market. What makes this report a bit of an eyebrow-raiser are his reported targets.

Lewandowski has been arguably the best striker in all of football in 2015-16, and he would be exactly the kind of player Los Blancos would target. But they have no real need for David De Gea, considering the superb form Keylor Navas has been in, and no club president would even consider replacing the prolific Ronaldo with the woefully out-of-form Hazard.

De Gea renewed his contract in September, removing any leverage Real may have had in transfer discussions, via Mark Froggatt of Manchester United's official website. A move may have looked likely before he did, but right now, it seems next to impossible.

Meanwhile, Hazard has the talent to turn his current slump around, and if he does, he could be a target for Los Blancos should Ronaldo decide to leave the club. But given Ronaldo's massive value to Los Blancos, both on and off the pitch, it will be the player who decides whether or not he leaves the Bernabeu and not Perez purposely killing his cash cow. 

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