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If Eden Hazard has played his last Premier League appearance for Chelsea, then the club may have already identified his replacement.
The Belgian has been widely linked with a move to Real Madrid this summer, with some reports suggesting that he may already have agreed personal terms with them. The player himself has been non-committal on the subject, insisting that his sole focus is on winning the Europa League with Chelsea.
However, if he does leave, then the man to fill his boots could be Phillipe Countinho, a familiar face in England from his time at Liverpool. The 26 year old Brazilian left Anfield for Barcelona for an initial fee of £105 million last January, but has failed to justify the fee during his time at the Nou Camp, and the Catalans may be ready to sell him already.
This is, of course, dependent on Chelsea’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) succeeding, as they are currently facing a two window transfer ban, imposed on them by FIFA for the illegal transfer of players aged under 18.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.