WHY SAY ANYTHING?

The answer to the above question is looking more and more likely to be “no”.

Having, apparently, fallen out with Jose Mourinho, this feeling now appears to have spread to the rest of the club. What has happened to a player who, only last season, was being placed behind only Messi and Ronlado in the world’s best players list?

We know that under Mourinho he was sometimes played out of his favourite position. We also know that he was expected to carry out defensive duties by tracking back and not letting the opposition wing backs have a free run. What we also know is that he didn’t like that side of the game.

Ideally, Hazard would play for a team whereby he was told to stick himself around the halfway line and wait until the hard working defenders managed to get the ball to him. Then he would be able to do what he does best, whether that be run at the defence through the middle, or on either wing.

It is unlikely that he will get his wish under Hiddink, who is also a bit of a taskmaster and expects his players to work hard for the ball. Whether or not Hazard sticks around to see if there will be a change of manager in the Summer is anybody’s guess but, at the moment, he is not of that mind.

So where can he go? Manchester United and Manchester City should be interested as they both wanted him before he went to Chelsea.

It would seem that City have moved on but there still seems to be interest at Old Trafford. The problem for Hazard is simple. If van Gaal serves out his time there, then he has another year to go after this one. Hazard will be expected to do all the things at United which he didn’t like doing at Chelsea. Does he gamble on a change of manager after one season and then being allowed to play his own game by the new man in charge? The rumbles and rumours coming out of Old Trafford seem to suggest that Diego Simeone would be the preferred choice. If that is the case then it may be worth the risk for Hazard.

Real Madrid, as ever, is another alternative and maybe the more attractive one. With Zinedine Zidane in charge, there may be more opportunity for Hazard to play where he likes and the defensive onus will be placed on others in the team. There is also the possibility of a swap deal which may include Gareth Bale. The question then is; does Bale want to go to Chelsea?

Finally, the third club in the potential buyer’s triangle is PSG. Another club with a manager constantly under threat but one who usually delivers. Laurent Blanc was a defender and, although PSG are a force going forward, his teams are built from the back. He is also no stranger to having players play out of position. This has been the main complaint of Edinson Cavani for the last two or three seasons, although it can’t be that bad as he is still there.

I would suggest that Hazard do what only players in his position have the privilege of doing and that is to talk to any interested club and find out what the plans for him would be. With United, it would be short term because there will be a new manager sooner or later. At Madrid it could also be short term purely because of their track record in changing coaches. On that basis alone, PSG may be his best bet.

Finally, for all you gooners out there, I am not aware that Arsenal have any interest in him whatsoever but don’t hold your breath because the Great British press have decided that Chelsea are interested in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. If this turns out to be true and there is any chance of a deal happening, Hazard would be a reasonable replacement, don’t you think?