Much as Liverpool needs to focus on its own needs as it enters the final week of the transfer window, things aren’t always that simple. The club didn’t mean to get caught up in two separate tussles with Chelsea, after all, but it is inevitable that targets sometimes overlap.
So while most of the club’s energy will be directed towards scoping out the market for any potential last-minute transfer business, Liverpool will also continue to keep a watchful eye on its rivals. As Saudi Arabia has categorically proved this summer, developments a long way from home can have a major ripple effect, so the Reds need to stay on top of things across Europe and beyond.
Today, that includes a claim that Eden Hazard could be set for a surprise return to the Premier League. He is a free agent since leaving Real Madrid.
On the other side of the El Clásico rivalry, Barcelona is fending off interest in a winger of its own. One of Liverpool’s Premier League competitors has lodged an inquiry, as have numerous other clubs, but Xavi is currently set to stand firm.
Eden Hazard could be offered unlikely Premier League return
It seemed like the biggest question around Eden Hazard this summer was whether or not he would retire. Plagued by injuries since making the move from Chelsea to Real Madrid, he has been a free agent since leaving the Spanish giant, and there have been murmurs that he could hang up his boots.
But according to Football Transfers, Crystal Palace is prepared to offer him an unlikely route back into the Premier League. Steve Parish sees a ‘commercial’ appeal to the move, while Roy Hodgson would also be keen to agree a free transfer for the Belgian legend. Any agreement would be mindful of Hazard’s woeful injury record. It would run for a single year, and would be structured on a pay-as-you-play basis.