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).

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 (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.

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.

In other news, find out which 'outstanding' Premier League captain NUFC may make a move for in January here!