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Hazard may have to be sold, says former Chelsea assistant Clarke

REUTERS
REUTERS

Chelsea could have to sell Eden Hazard to fund a rebuild of their squad this summer, according to former Blues assistant Steve Clarke.

A 1-0 win over Manchester United meant Chelsea ended the season with an FA Cup win to their name but Antonio Conte’s side fell short in the league, where a fifth-place finish means they not compete in the Champions League next term.

Both Hazard and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois have called for the Chelsea hierarchy to sanction significant spending in the summer after net expenditure of around £90million over the last four seasons.

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However there is little indication the Blues will spend heavily this summer without selling first and Kilmarnock boss Clarke, who spent four years as assistant to Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant, believes no-one in the club should be considered unsellable.

Hazard, who has two years left on his contract, has long been a target for Real Madrid and the Blues could hope to receive a sizeable fee should they sanction the Belgian’s departure, enough to allow them to make significant new additions.

“You can always look to replace players,” Clarke told the BBC.

“They come and go, they always move on. The club is the most important thing.

“They have to rebuild that squad a little bit. It wasn't good enough to be in the top four. They have got a lot of work to do over the summer.

“To help fund other transfers for the club this summer maybe they do have to sell Hazard.”