Eden Hazard clearly had his heart set on a transfer to Real Madrid this summer. He spoke to the press after Belgium claimed third place at the World Cup against England in St Petersburg and reminded everyone that it was no secret where he wanted to play his football. At 27 – and at the top of his game – there is no question that Hazard deserves to be playing at the highest level.
Instead, Chelsea are in the Europa League and endured a tough summer. They did not replace their head coach Antonio Conte with compatriot Maurizio Sarri until well after pre-season training had started.