Chelsea transfer news: Gareth Bale, Eden Hazard, Tiemoue Bakayoko

Cash plus Bale for Hazard?

Real Madrid are ready to have one last roll of their dice in what is described as a “desperate bid to sign Eden Hazard in January”.

Having failed in previous attempts to lure the Belgian from Stamford Bridge, the European champions are “willing to pull out all the stops in a bid to land their No. 1 target”, The Sun reports.

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And that means offering a mountain of cash, plus Gareth Bale. According to the newspaper, Real will meet whatever asking price Chelsea demand for Hazard, as well as throwing in the Welshman, even though he has declared his desire to remain in Spain rather than return to the Premier League.

Blues ready for Real

Real’s offer may still prove insufficient to weaken Chelsea’s resolve, with the English club’s chairman, Bruce Buck, insisting that the Blues’ intend to hold on to their brilliant Belgian.

“Every Chelsea fan in London and around the world loves Eden Hazard, and he’s not only a great footballer but I think he’s a wonderful lad,” Buck told attendees at a Financial Times future of football event. “We want him to stay and we will do what we have to do to entice him to stay. Let’s see how it goes between now and the end of the season.”

That enticement is a £300,000-a-week deal, claims the Daily Express, which reports that Hazard “is ready to accept it in the coming weeks”.

Under the agreement, the Belgian would earn around £15.8m a year.

Bakayoko spurns the Bridge

Contrary to recent rumours, Tiemoue Bakayoko is not intending to return to Chelsea in January, says Calciomercato.com.

Currently on loan at AC Milan, the French midfielder is enjoying life in Italy, says his agent, Federico Pastorello, who insists that Bakayoko wants to remain in the Serie A. Pastorello spoke out in response to speculation that Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso is not convinced of the footballer’s worth.

“Bakayoko is happy at AC Milan and the club is happy with what he is doing,” said Pastorello. “We knew he would take time to adapt, but everybody believes that he will help the team during the season. Any speculation about his return to Chelsea is simply untrue.”