Crystal Palace made move to sign Premier League winner this summer

This summer, Crystal Palace reportedly made an approach for Eden Hazard, a former Chelsea and Real Madrid player.

According to Dean Jones in an interview with Give Me Sport, the Belgian forward is currently a free agent, and his future appears to be no closer to being resolved.

Hazard was one of the very finest players in world football for many years, enjoying a memorable career as he won two Premier League titles during a seven-year spell at Stamford Bridge.

Hazard then moved to Real Madrid in 2019, and a combination of injuries and confidence issues seem to have majorly derailed his career, and it’s now not clear if he’ll even return to playing at all, with Jones saying he could still end up making the decision to retire.

The 32-year-old surely still has it in him to perform at a reasonably high level, but perhaps he’s keen to go out on a bit more of a high instead of continuing to struggle with his fitness for a year or two more at a smaller club.

On Palace’s interest and Hazard’s future, Jones said: “It would not surprise me if Hazard does now retire from football.

“There have been some strong offers for him, including one from Crystal Palace to play again in the Premier League, but the motivation for him to make a comeback does not appear to be there.”

“It’s been a long time since he’s played; he’d have to work extremely hard to get back to top condition, which means playing top-level games could take some time.”

“Because he’s a free agent, clubs that have expressed interest haven’t ruled him out, but this is a player who is very self-assured, isn’t affected by outside noise or behaviors, and will make the decision entirely on his own terms.”