New Chelsea manager Maurzio Sarri is preparing to make Eden Hazard his captain in a last ditch attempt to keep hold of his star.
Forward Hazard is a £180million target for Real Madrid – with the La Liga giants keep to make a Galatico signing to appease fans after Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus.
The Blues are desperately to keep hold of the Belgium World Cup star and believe that if they hand over the captaincy to him he will be more likely to stay and sign the new contract he has been offered.
Sarri has yet to make a final decision on who will take the armband at Stamford Bridge, with Spanish defender Cesar Azpilicueta and midfielder Cesc Fabregas other candidates.
Sarri also met with owner Roman Abramovich and director Marina Granovskaia in Nice last night to discuss transfer targets.
Hazard could be offered the captaincy to keep him at Chelsea (Image: REUTERS)
Chelsea have been told by Juventus they will have to pay £45million for centre-back Daniele Rugani. An opening offer of around £40m was rejected in discussions between Granovskaia and Juve sporting director Fabio Paratici in Italy on Thursday, but a deal could be concluded this weekend.
Rugani’s agent David Torchia said: “Chelsea really like Rugani and have made an important offer. Juve are aware of the interest but for now they don’t want to sell the player.
“But we know everything has a price. Rugani is a defender that would make Chelsea’s manager happy and it would be a good investment for them. Rugani wants to play more games.”
Chelsea also want £58m-rated Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain, but want to get the Rugani deal sealed first – and to complicate matters AC Milan are also in for the Argentine.
The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in Turin has led to Juve rethinking their options, with general manager Beppe Marotta saying: “He is still an important player for us, but now we obviously have greater competition [up front]. He is a professional and we are evaluating his future together with the people who represent him.”
Chelsea are also close to a deal for Brazil winger Bernard, 25, who is a free agent after leaving Shakhtar Donetsk, while Valencia are interested in Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi.
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