EXCLUSIVE: Crystal Palace plot SHOCK Eden Hazard transfer
Steve Kay
- Updated: 27 Aug 2023 09:11 BST
- 3 min read
Crystal Palace are plotting a shock move to save Eden Hazard from retirement, FootballTransfers understands.
The Belgian is still a free agent after leaving Real Madrid earlier in the summer and there have been suggestions that Hazard could retire due to his persistent injury issues.
We are told, however, that the feeling at Crystal Palace is quite different. Eagles boss Steve Parish believes that the 32-year-old still has something to offer, commercially and on the pitch. Head coach Roy Hodgson is also said to be keen for the move to happen.
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At this stage in his career, this would not be a grand comeback to the Premier League, but more of a last hurrah. Hazard would be offered a simple one-year deal with a pay-as-you-play structure. In other words, he would receive an inexpensive base salary but with the ability to augment his income through appearance and performance bonuses.
It will be up to the player to decide whether he still has enough left in the tank to perform at the Premier League level, but a return to London and joining an ambitious Palace project may be tempting to the Chelsea legend.
Hazard's fall from grace
It must be said that this is also a gamble by Palace. Since leaving Chelsea, Hazard has struggled to come anywhere close to his spectacular Premier League form.
He joined Real Madrid in 2019 for a whopping €115 million but left earlier this summer after persistent fitness issues, having only made 76 appearances in which he scored seven goals and assisted 12.
Since his departure, reports about potential suitors have been few and far between, though his barber recently claimed that Hazard has rejected offers from six teams.
The Belgian's decline is best illustrated by his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV), which stood at an eye-watering €130m in 2017 but is now languishing at a measly €5.6m.
