Chelsea eye new deals for Belgian duo before 2018 World Cup

Chelsea want to tie Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois down to new long-term deals before the 2018 World Cup, reports The Daily Mirror.

Antonio Conte’s side are bracing themselves for summer interest from Real Madrid for Courtois and Hazard and want to quash those transfer rumours as quickly as possible.

Courtois has already stated he wants to shelve contract talks until the end of the season after rejecting Chelsea’s opening offer in the summer, but Conte’s side remain hopeful of resolving his long-term future before then.

Madrid are expected to renew their interest in Courtois at the end of the season as they look to replace Keylor Navas and Chelsea know that a solid showing at the 2018 World Cup will only increase the likelihood of a summer approach from Zinedine Zidane’s side.

The same is true of Hazard, who has already revealed on several occasions that Zidane is his idol. The Chelsea No.10 has been in sparkling form for the defending Premier League champions in recent weeks and will certainly be one of the players to watch out for in Russia next summer.

Hazard’s current deal is not due to expire until 2020 but Chelsea are currently in talks with their star man over a new £330,000-a-week deal.

Of Premier League players that have made at least 10 appearances this season, only Kevin De Bruyne (7.96) has a higher WhoScored rating than Hazard (7.69), who has played a direct hand in seven goals in 12 matches thus far (five goals, two assists).

Not only that, but only Harry Kane has won the WhoScored Man of the Match award as many times as Hazard (both 5).