Fears growing Eden Hazard will join Chelsea summer transfer window exodus if they miss a top 4 finish

Chelsea face a desperate battle to keep Eden Hazard after their Champions League exit.

There is a growing fear that Hazard and keeper Thibaut Courtois could follow Antonio Conte out of the exit door if last season’s title winners club fail to achieve the top four finish that gets them back among the European elite next season.

Boss Conte looks certain to leave Stamford Bridge this summer — even winning the FA Cup, in which they have a quarter-final away to Leicester on Sunday, would not be enough to save him after a disappointing campaign.

Will Hazard and Lionel Messi go head-to-head in La Liga next season? (Image: Reuters)

Belgium internationals Hazard and Courtois are both likely to be big-money targets for Real Madrid this summer, while French champions-to-be Paris Saint-Germain are watching developments closely.

Hazard has yet to commit himself to a new contract, despite Chelsea being ready to make him the best paid player at the club with a £300,000-a-week deal.

Courtois is potentially an even bigger and more immediate concern as he will enter the final year of his contract this summer. Unless he signs a new deal, the Blues may have to sell.

That would spark a summer of major rebuilding while Chelsea which would be difficult if the club is not in the Champions League next season.

Conte’s final hope of major silverware went with the Champions League exit and the Chelsea boss is wanted by PSG and the Italian FA want him to return as national manager.

PSG have already made overtures to Conte and the Italian is their No1 priority ahead of Jose Mourinho despite the Manchester United manager’s problems at Old Trafford.

Chelsea have got former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique at the top of their list of managerial targets because of his record of success at the Nou Camp and his style of football.

Enrique’s right-hand man Juliano Belletti is also a potential candidate to come in as technical director with the club considering what to do next after Michael Emenalo’s departure for Monaco last year.

Belletti — a Chelsea player from 2007-2010 — was at the game with Crystal Palace last weekend, and currently clubless Enrique would be keen on a move to the Premier League.