Arsenal are reportedly ready to move for Real Madrid attacker Eden Hazard if their pursuit of Mykhaylo Mudryk does not bear fruit.
The Gunners have been locked in negotiations with Shakhtar over a move for Mudryk for weeks, but the Ukrainian giants are holding firm on their €100m (£88.4m) valuation.
Furthermore, Chelsea are now thought to be trying to hijack Arsenal’s bid to sign the 21-year-old, who is known to be keen on a move to the Emirates Stadium.
However, should Arsenal ultimately fail to come to an agreement with Shakhtar over a deal for Mudryk, MediaFoot claims that Hazard has been earmarked as a possible alternative.
The former Chelsea attacker has consistently struggled for form and fitness since swapping Stamford Bridge for the Bernabeu in 2019, and his contract only runs for another 18 months.
Hazard has been linked with an exit from the Spanish and European champions for some time now, but he has remained faithful to Carlo Ancelotti’s side, in spite of his lack of game time.
The report states that Arsenal have already made contact with Real Madrid to discuss a potential January deal for the 32-year-old, who has played a mere seven games in all tournaments this season.
A move to MLS has also been mooted for Hazard, although The Athletic states that the Belgium international’s future will not be discussed until after the current window shuts in February.
Real are thought to be keen to offload Hazard this month in order to slash his £13m yearly wages from the books, but Ancelotti believes that the attacker can still come good for Los Blancos in the second half of the season.
“Hazard has been training well and I think he’s doing better now than he was before the World Cup,” Ancelotti told reporters at the end of December.
“With all the matches we have coming up, we’ll need to use the whole squad and Hazard will be one of those players who’ll play more in the second half of the season.”
Hazard’s total for Real Madrid now stands at seven goals and 11 assists from 73 outings in all tournaments, including one goal and one assist in the 2022-23 Champions League.
The former Lille starlet, who is also believed to be on the radar of Fenerbahce, failed to score or assist for Belgium at the World Cup as they suffered a disappointing group-stage exit.
Arsenal are working without Gabriel Jesus for the next few months following knee surgery, leaving Eddie Nketiah as Mikel Arteta’s only senior attacking option through the middle of the pitch.
Nketiah scored twice as Arsenal ran out 3-0 winners over Oxford United in Monday’s FA Cup third-round tie, but Arteta expressed his desire to reinforce the Gunners’ attack after the game.