Real Madrid attempt to include player in Eden Hazard deal, Chelsea say no

A report by Standard Sport has outlined how Marina Granovskaia strived to keep Mateo Kovacic out of negotiations with Real Madrid over Eden Hazard.

The report notes that the two clubs have found an agreement which will see Hazard move to the Santiago Bernabeu for a fee which could amount to as much as £130M.

It’s brilliant negotiating work from Marina once again, with her raising such a huge sum of cash for a player who had just 12 months left to run on his contract.

As per Standard Sport, Real Madrid were hoping to use Chelsea’s potential interest in loanee Mateo Kovacic to their advantage, thus lowering the fee they were to pay.

However, Marina stood firm. She ensured that Kovacic remained separate from the Hazard negotiations and focused on securing as much money in exchange for him as possible.

Whether Chelsea do go ahead and sign Kovacic permanently is down to the club and manager, but it’s the right decision to deal with it as a separate matter.

Losing Hazard is only survivable if the club have enough funds to directly replace him with a player of same or similar quality. Kovacic, all due respect, isn’t that.

Chelsea News