Newcastle United have now reportedly been ‘alerted’ to the possibility of signing Eden Hazard in the January transfer window.
The Lowdown: Tough time at Madrid
Hazard has had a tough time at Real Madrid so far, as he has been hit with a lot of injury problems (Transfermarkt).
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He has only managed to play in a mere 52 games in total over all competitions across the last three consecutive seasons, scoring just five goals and making nine assists (Transfermarkt), a far cry from the Chelsea form that earned him a huge £150m move (BBC) to the Spanish capital.
Nonetheless, he is still a world-class player on his day, and perhaps a fresh start in a familiar league is exactly what he needs.
The Latest: Newcastle alerted
As per ESPN, the St. James’ Park faithful have now been ‘alerted’ to the possibility of signing Hazard in January, along with his former club Chelsea.
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However it is unclear at this stage just how much interest there is in the Belgium international, and whether he would like to leave Madrid.
The Verdict: Avoid
There is no doubt that Hazard has been a great servant to the beautiful game down the years, notching up a total of 198 goals for both club and country in over 700 appearances, largely from a wide-midfield position (Transfermarkt).
However he is currently on a whopping £381,000-per-week at the Bernabeu. Even though money is no object to the new owners on Tyneside, Hazard is 30 years of age now, and penning an out-of-form and unfit player to a long deal on those sorts of wages simply cannot be justified.
Comparing his stats from this season alone, he has not yet managed to score a goal and only has one assist to his name (Transfermarkt).
With Allan Saint-Maximin already an option in the left-wing position as well, he would arguably not even start in his favoured role based on current form – the Frenchman has two goals and three assists this term – and so it would be a waste of money to sign him.
