Could Barcelona make a move for Chelsea’s Eden Hazard to replace Neymar?

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After seeing off interest from Real Madrid, there may be fresh cause for concern for Chelsea fans as the Mirror say that Eden Hazard is subject to interest from Barcelona. They believe that the Catalan club see him as a potential replacement for Neymar should he move to Paris Saint-Germain this summer.

Would Barcelona be interested?

If Neymar moves on, then Hazard would be a natural replacement given that he is one of the best left sided forwards in the world. With £200 million in the bank from the sale of Neymar, they would easily be able to test Chelsea’s resolve.

Hazard lacks the pace to be a like for like replacement for the Brazilian, but with his skill and creativity, he could fit in well alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in attack.

The only concern for Barca fans and Ernesto Valverde may be that he is too similar to Lionel Messi in that he likes to drift inside into a central role. Such moves would be hugely prohibitive if the Belgian and Messi end up standing on each others’ toes and Hazard may have to adapt to stick to the flank more if he is to head to the Camp Nou.

Would Chelsea let him go?

Antonio Conte has already ruled out any sale, quickly reacting to the speculation. The Italian boss told the London Evening Standard:

“I don’t know anything about this situation. In the past I read a lot of stories about (Hazard going to) Real Madrid and now there is Barcelona. This is the transfer market and we must understand this. Will Hazard stay with us? Yes. He is very happy to stay with us and to play for Chelsea.”

£200 million may be enough to tempt the Blues, but Roman Abramovich is hardly short of cash. He will be under no pressure to sell Hazard and will likely reject any offer that comes his way.

The only reason that Chelsea may even consider selling their star man may be if he tries to force a move and grows unhappy at Stamford Bridge. Currently, that looks unlikely, as Conte has claimed, but the situation may change.