Real Madrid: Eden Hazard is the perfect addition at the perfect price

Real Madrid must make a flurry of significant signings this summer in order to return to Champions League and La Liga title contention. Eden Hazard can help carry Real to those heights in 2019-2020.

While defender Eder Militao and ace striker Luka Jovic are undoubtedly huge additions to Real Madrid, Eden Hazard looks like the crown jewel of this summer’s incoming class.

One of the Premier League’s biggest stars over the past handful of years, Hazard has helped carry to Chelsea to Premier League and Europa League titles, and he could do the same for Real Madrid in La Liga and the Champions League.

According to The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano, Real have agreed to purchase Hazard from Chelsea for a fee of 100 million euros plus add-ons. The deal is expected to be announced by both clubs shortly.

Since Hazard has made it clear that he’s ready for the next chapter in his career and had just one year left on his contract, the pressure was on Chelsea to get the most value for the Belgian winger.

Although Chelsea fans were hoping that the London-based club would get more than 100 million euros for Hazard, the lack of a bidding war between Real and another club essentially made this impossible.

Hazard’s intention to leave was clear to Los Blancos, and Chelsea had no choice but to cash in.

At 100 million euros, Hazard qualifies as a steal for Madrid. Nobody on Los Blancos had more than six assists last season, with 33-year-old midfielder Luka Modric and striker Karim Benzema tying in this category.

Meanwhile, Hazard led all players in Europe with 15 assists, carrying Chelsea to a third-place finish in the Premier League.

Almost impossible to detach from the ball, Hazard’s dribbling skills and dangerous passes make him one of the world’s best at creating chances for others.

Incoming striker Luka Jovic, established 20-goal forward Benzema, and the rising Vinicius Junior all stand to benefit greatly from Hazard’s pass-first style of play.

Of course, Hazard is equally capable of scoring, having finished eighth in the Premier League last season with 16 goals of his own. Hazard has scored more than 10 goals in a season five times at Chelsea, but last season’s 15 assists were easily a career high.

At Real Madrid, Hazard will get to play with Jovic and Benzema, meaning he stands a great chance of remaining Europe’s assist king in 2019-2020.

Real’s busy summer transfer window isn’t over yet, as other big names like Mohamed Salah, Paul Pogba, and Christian Eriksen have been linked to Zinedine Zidane’s powerhouse club.

However, Hazard always appeared to be Real’s absolute priority. Given all that he’s accomplished in the Premier League and his jaw-dropping statistics as a goal-scorer, passer, and dribbler, it’s safe to say that Real identified the right man to help lead Madrid back to Champions League glory.

Cut from a different cloth than top stars of Real’s recent past, Hazard will make everyone around him better without passing on the opportunity to rise to the occasion if need be.

An exciting player who shines on football’s brightest stages, such as the 2018 World Cup, Hazard still has several years of excellent football left in him as a 28-year-old.

Chelsea can’t be criticized for letting Hazard go at a reasonable price after years of great service in London, but Real can be praised for making a smart, if not necessary, signing.

Hazard sets the tone for the summer to follow in Madrid, as the team’s subsequent signings will be built around their new winger.

But no matter who they sign, Hazard’s track record shows that he’ll be able to work with any of them effectively, highlighting the fact that he is indeed the most important signing Real could have made in the summer 2019 window.