Chelsea star lifts lid on increasing fears over Eden Hazard sale Emerson Palmieri admits he and his Chelsea teammates have mounting worries that Eden Hazard will quit the club this summer and move to Real Madrid. The Belgian’s future was already very much under the spotlight this summer amid talk of a switch to the Bernabeu, but Zinedine Zidane’s re-appointment at the struggling LaLiga giants has put that speculation very much back in the gossip columns. Hazard is out of contract at Stamford Bridge in summer 2020, and while the player has previously admitted his love for the Spaniards, Palmieri admits the club would be foolish to bury their heads in the sand over his future. “I personally cannot see him leaving, but you never know in football. Like Chelsea fans, we are afraid that he might leave, I still believe that he will stay and we really want him to stay,” the Italian defender said. Hazard is enjoying his most fruitful season for Chelsea since arriving from Lille and now has 13 Premier League goals this season – five more than he achieved last season. Add in the numerous assists he has to his name – Hazard has seven more than his nearest teammate – and Palmieri understands fully his value to the Blues. “He shows every day how important he is,” Emerson told Sky Sports. “Obviously we have many players of quality in our team but he is on another level, and is one of the best in the world.” After a slow start to his Chelsea career, Palmieri now appears to have made himself a regular under Maurizio Sarri and the former Roma man has put it down to adjusting to life in a new country. “When I first arrived in January, I was coming back from a serious knee injury,” Emerson added. “I needed to get back into training, I needed to get match fit. “I needed to settle in, new city, new club, new team-mates, this season I am playing a lot more. Any player will tell you that when you are playing a lot more, the more you feel part of the project. “I think I have progressed in the speed of play. In the Premier League it is so much faster, you cannot really have two touches on the ball before you get two or three opponents on you. This is something I have grown on, learned to play the ball faster and be more aggressive.” Palmieri on Chelsea top-four chances The draw against Wolves leaves Chelsea three points adrift of the top four ahead of their trip to Everton on Sunday, but Emerson is not giving up hope of climbing back into the Champions League qualification spots just yet. “It is not nine games we have got left, it is nine cup finals,” Emerson said. “We are very confident we are going to make it, at the weekend we dropped points, but we are confident we can make up for it and remedy the situation. “Our objective is to win the nine games, starting with Everton on Sunday and get and stay in the top four. We keep saying we need to be in the top four.” Get the latest personalised Blues products on our new TEAMtalk Chelsea shop! The post Chelsea star lifts lid on increasing fears over Eden Hazard sale appeared first on teamtalk.com.

Emerson Palmieri admits he and his Chelsea teammates have mounting worries that Eden Hazard will quit the club this summer and move to Real Madrid.

The Belgian’s future was already very much under the spotlight this summer amid talk of a switch to the Bernabeu, but Zinedine Zidane’s re-appointment at the struggling LaLiga giants has put that speculation very much back in the gossip columns.

Hazard is out of contract at Stamford Bridge in summer 2020, and while the player has previously admitted his love for the Spaniards, Palmieri admits the club would be foolish to bury their heads in the sand over his future.

“I personally cannot see him leaving, but you never know in football. Like Chelsea fans, we are afraid that he might leave, I still believe that he will stay and we really want him to stay,” the Italian defender said.

Hazard is enjoying his most fruitful season for Chelsea since arriving from Lille and now has 13 Premier League goals this season – five more than he achieved last season.

Add in the numerous assists he has to his name – Hazard has seven more than his nearest teammate – and Palmieri understands fully his value to the Blues.

“He shows every day how important he is,” Emerson told Sky Sports. “Obviously we have many players of quality in our team but he is on another level, and is one of the best in the world.”

After a slow start to his Chelsea career, Palmieri now appears to have made himself a regular under Maurizio Sarri and the former Roma man has put it down to adjusting to life in a new country.

“When I first arrived in January, I was coming back from a serious knee injury,” Emerson added. “I needed to get back into training, I needed to get match fit.

“I needed to settle in, new city, new club, new team-mates, this season I am playing a lot more. Any player will tell you that when you are playing a lot more, the more you feel part of the project.

“I think I have progressed in the speed of play. In the Premier League it is so much faster, you cannot really have two touches on the ball before you get two or three opponents on you. This is something I have grown on, learned to play the ball faster and be more aggressive.”

 

Palmieri on Chelsea top-four chances

The draw against Wolves leaves Chelsea three points adrift of the top four ahead of their trip to Everton on Sunday, but Emerson is not giving up hope of climbing back into the Champions League qualification spots just yet.

“It is not nine games we have got left, it is nine cup finals,” Emerson said. “We are very confident we are going to make it, at the weekend we dropped points, but we are confident we can make up for it and remedy the situation.

“Our objective is to win the nine games, starting with Everton on Sunday and get and stay in the top four. We keep saying we need to be in the top four.”

 

Get the latest personalised Blues products on our new TEAMtalk Chelsea shop!

 

The post Chelsea star lifts lid on increasing fears over Eden Hazard sale appeared first on teamtalk.com.

James Marshment