Sky Sports is reporting that Eden Hazard will not be joining Arsenal after Lille boss Frederic Paquet insisted he won’t be selling the midfielder.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger wants the Belgian international to replace Samir Nasri who is on the cusp of joining rivals Manchester City. The Frenchman is desperate to sign a new midfielder with Nasri on the verge of leaving and Cesc Fabregas having departed for Barcelona earlier this month.
Hazard has been a target for the last 18 months but Paquet has insisted the 20-year-old is going nowhere. He told Sky Sports:
“Eden will not be leaving this season. We are aware of interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe but we are not prepared to sell. He is very happy here, he understands our project and wants to stay for at least another year.”
The unflinchingly prudent Wenger has insisted that he won’t panic buy to please the disgruntled Emirates fans despite losing two of his most influential players this summer.
A £30 million price tag has been attached to Hazard who has scored 23 goals in 123 appearances for the Ligue 1 side and despite the Gunners boss is a keen admirer of his talents it’s unlikely he’ll pay that sort of cash for one player.
Jak Penny writes regularly for FootballFanCast.com
