Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas fears the Blues will lose Eden Hazard to Real Madrid next summer if they cannot agree a new contract with their star man.
The 27-year-old Belgium wizard attracted interest from Real in the summer, especially after an excellent World Cup, that he might want a change of scenery from Stamford Bridge.
He has brought his form from Russia into the new Premier League season and scored a stunning winner as Chelsea came from behind to beat Liverpool 2-1 in the League Cup in midweek.
And Fabregas thinks that while Chelsea held all the cards in the summer window just gone, they may find it more difficult to stave off the European champions next year.
Hazard is under contract at Chelsea until 2020 and though contract talks have been ongoing for over a year, no agreement has been reached.
“It was an easy decision [to keep him], especially now, because at this stage how much can Eden cost?,” former Barcelona midfielder Fabregas told the London Evening Standard.
“Not many teams in the world can buy Eden Hazard. He still had two years left on his contract.
“Next year if he has one year left, that’s a different story. You don’t have as much power as a club. Eden is one of the best players in the world.
“But having two years left, especially how the market is, it’s basically impossible to sign him up. I don’t think it was that hard from the club.”
