Eden Hazard has been linked with a shock return to the Premier League, with Aston Villa emerging as a potential destination.
The Belgian left the English top flight in 2019 with his status as one of the world’s best players richly deserved. During his seven seasons with Chelsea, Hazard scored more than 100 times and helped the Blues to a host of major trophies including two league titles.
Real Madrid spent an eye-watering £88 million to sign the forward, with add-ons meaning the total cost could reach as high as £130m. But just over three years later the 31-year-old is standing at a career crossroads having spectacularly flopped at the Bernabeu.
Chronic injury issues and a dramatic loss of form mean he has just seven goals across 72 largely ineffective appearances. His current, money-spinning contract is set to expire in 2024, but there is increased speculation he could make a move before that.
Spanish news outlet Defensa Central claims that Villa - with new manager Unai Emery - could turn to Hazard, with the suggestion that “all routes lead back to England”. Hazard is set to make a decision over his future after the World Cup where he will skipper Belgium’s ‘Golden Generation’ in Qatar.
However, there is an acceptance that at club level a change is required, with Hazard determined to show his best years are not behind him. LInks with a return to English football aren’t a new thing for the ex-Blues star, however, who has been forced to fend off questions for several years.
The fact that the rumour mill currently has him as a target for struggling Aston Villa is perhaps an indication of where he currently finds himself. Over the previous three years, the most obvious destination for his second stint in the country was where he spent his first.
Almost immediately after he left Stamford Bridge, Hazard revealed he had his eye on one day coming back to west London, telling a supporter: “When I finish here [at Madrid], I’ll come back. I do my job here and then I come back.”
As his form and fitness continued to elude him in the Spanish capital, there were more spurious reports of interest from Premier League clubs - including his former employers. Newcastle were another side apparently in the mix, only for Hazard to personally block any move. Speaking in the summer of 2021, he was asked explicitly about the chance of a move, insisting that it wasn’t a consideration.
He said in May of that year: "I still have a three-year contract with Real Madrid, so going back to England is out of the question. Everyone knows that my first two years were not good, so first I want to prove myself at Real Madrid. I will do everything to do that.
"I certainly don’t see myself leaving Madrid, given the contract situation. I know myself and I know when I’m in shape. If that’s the case, I can give it my all for Real next season. That’s my plan."
Speaking more recently, his brother Kylian suggested that a move back to England wouldn’t be entertained until Eden had re-established himself as one of the best players in Europe. “He's not going to let Real go until he's proven he's the strongest there,” he told RTBF.
“He's proven himself at every club he's been to, and for me, he doesn't want to leave. I don't think he's going to leave. If the president wants him to leave, if he knows he has no chance to play, then I don't think that he will stay. But I can assure you of one thing: he will do everything to prove that he is the best player at Real.”
With that conclusion now looking increasingly unlikely, a move looks inevitable for Hazard in the near future. Whether that will be to Chelsea, or whether he will join another LaLiga flop in Philippe Coutinho at Aston Villa remains to be seen.
