Paper Round: Real Madrid to offer £200m for Eden Hazard

Real Madrid are planning for life after Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Juventus for around £100m. Real have lined up Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, who has been hinting about a desired move since the end of the World Cup. However, he may cost upwards of £200m, which might hamper Real’s pursuit of Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich, who Chelsea are also interested in. Another option for Chelsea would be to swap Alvaro Morata for Gonzalo Higuain.

Paper Round’s view: Higuain is probably a step up from Morata in terms of quality, but at 30 and five years older, he offers much worse value for money. In addition, there is no guarantee that Morata has not adjusted for life in the Premier League, while Higuain might also struggle after years in Italy. As for Hazard, if Real can sign the 27-year-old playmaker, they will have signed one of the best replacements for Ronaldo available.

The transfer dealings won’t stop there at Chelsea. They are closing in on another Juventus player, Daniele Rugani, paying £44.2m for the 23-year-old Italian defender. That means that Gary Cahill may bring to a close his time at Stamford Bridge in the pursuit of more first team football. Jamaal Lascelles of Newcastle United is also interesting new boss Maurizio Sarri. There is also talk that Thibaut Courtois is planning an imminent move to Real Madrid.

Paper Round’s view: It is hard to begrudge Courtois a move back to Madrid to be with his children, and he has been open and straightforward in his desires, while not letting his performances suffer for his current club. Similarly, there seems to be little resentment for Cahill who has just come to the end of his time with Chelsea. There is a lot of change underway at Chelsea, but that has rarely hurt them in the past.

Liverpool have made a £62m bid for Roma’s goalkeeper Alisson. The 25-year-old Brazilian international impressed with Roma and has been linked with a move to Liverpool for a couple of months, especially after Loris Karius’ dreadful performance in the Champions League final.

Paper Round’s view: Alisson still conceded seven goals against Liverpool, so there is a risk that they are continuing their history of buying duff keepers, but he does look far better than their current options. With Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri, they are having an excellent transfer window.

Further down the table, Eddie Howe is planning two huge transfers compared to previous transfer market dealings. The first player in his sights is Jefferson Lerma, the 23-year-old Colombia international, who is currently with Levante. He may cost as much as £32m. His other target is Genoa’s Diego Laxalt. A left winger for his club, the 25-year-old Uruguayan plays at left-back for his national side, and could cost around £25m.

Paper Round’s view: Bournemouth have established themselves as challengers in the mid-table, but they are never too far from a relegation battle. With only a few weeks remaining in the transfer window, Bournemouth aren’t in need of numbers, but do need real quality. Howe is taking a risk by buying two players from abroad, and much of his side is British, but Laxalt and Lerma have played impressively in the World Cup so are worth a risk.

Rafael Benitez is at an impasse with Mike Ashley. Ashley wants the 58-year-old to sign a new deal at Newcastle United following an impressive 10th-placed finish last season, but there is little money to spend in the transfer market. Kenedy is back on loan, and Martin Dubravka’s move has been made permanent. The other signing is Ki Sung-yueng, on a free transfer. Benitez is unable to sign Andros Townsend as he is too expensive, so will not let Matt Ritchie join Stoke, because any funds need to be used for new players.

Paper Round’s view: Benitez has been cursed by his own achievement. Showing Ashley what he can do on a budget will have only shown Ashley that he can continue to cut corners in pursuit of greater profit margins. With no buyers forthcoming for the club, Benitez has to wonder if going through another difficult season with little money will only damage his reputation in the long term.