English Premier League News: Chelsea’s Eden Hazard linked with Real Madrid transfer

Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard has sparked rumours of a move to La Liga giants Real Madrid after reports broke out in England that he had ‘liked’ a post on social media network Instagram, which linked with a move to the capital club.

The Sun claims Hazard’s ‘liking’ of the post means he open to leaving Chelsea and moving to Madrid, which seems unlikely, considering how highly Chelsea, as well as rival clubs in the Premier League rate him.

He was voted Chelsea’s player of the year for the last two years in a row and also won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award last season, after leading Chelsea to the Premier League and Capital One Cup titles.

Hazard joined Chelsea from Lille in 2012 for a reported fee of around £32 million (AU $67.84 million), choosing the Blues ahead of Manchester United, who had also shown strong interest in signing him at the time. He won the PFA Young Player of the Year award and Chelsea player of the year award in just his second season at the club.

Last season he was rated as one of the three best players in the world by his manager, Jose Mourinho, only behind Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo. He had 19 goals and 11 assists last season as Chelsea won their first league title in five years, but his form has dipped in the current season.

He has failed to score so far this season and has had only two assists to his name. The Blues have also started badly and are currently in 11th place in the Premier League with four losses in the opening nine games of the season, making the worst ever start by a defending champion in the Premier League.

The Belgian attacker, usually a permanent fixture in the starting XI when available, was dropped by Mourinho last weekend in the 2-0 win over Aston Villa, with the Portuguese claiming after the match that the Belgian attacker was dropped to the bench for his lack of defensive contribution, which has been the main reason for rumours that the player may be open to a move away to Madrid.

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