Hazard’s dad in Real twist
ANTONIO CONTE believes Chelsea’s ‘ambition’ will go a long way to determining if they can keep Eden Hazard after the playmaker’s father stated his desire to join Real Madrid.
Thierry Hazard said yesterday that his son had ‘refused a contract extension so that, if necessary, he could follow the interest of Real, whom he could see himself playing for’.
But those comments were met with some bewilderment at Chelsea, where Hazard (right) is under contract until 2020 and no formal offer is understood to have been made for its renewal, despite starting talks in May.
While that aspect might be true, it can be of little reassurance to the club that a member of Hazard’s family is spelling out his attraction to the Spanish giants. If the attraction is truly mutual and Real come in for the 26-year-old, then based on history Chelsea’s odds of keeping him wouldn’t look so great, but Conte thinks Hazard could yet be swayed.
‘If you are in a great club and you trust in the club and the ambition of the club, I think it’s right to stay,’ he said.
‘I must be honest, I didn’t read the comments from his father. I think, in the world, everyone has to respect the opinion of everyone else. In this case, I have to respect the opinion. But I think we are talking about a really good guy, and it’s normal — I repeat — if you think that you stay in a great club with great ambition, it’s right to stay.’
Asked if Hazard believed in Chelsea’s project, Conte added: ‘Now I think this is not the right moment, and also I think this question is not for me but for the club. These are private conversations that the player, the agent of the player must have with the club.’ It might well be another attempt on Conte’s part to secure extra reinforcements in January, having previously said his squad is not deep enough. Indeed, it has been an ongoing gripe for the Italian since winning the title last season. But Chelsea’s growth would be hindered greatly by losing Hazard, who is among the world’s elite, though clearly still a notch below Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Conte said: ‘He could score more. If you see the stats, you understand that he can score more goals. That is an aspect he can improve. When you are a striker, or a No 10, your speciality must be to score. I think in this aspect he has a lot of space for improvement. But don’t forget he’s younger than Ronaldo and Messi.’