Ross Barkley urges Eden Hazard to stay put with Chelsea

England international Ross Barkley has urged Eden Hazard to stay put with Chelsea for the long-term. The Belgium attacker has been constantly linked with a move to Real Madrid since the summer and the speculation has grown over the past few days with the 27-year-old personally admitting that it would be a dream to join the European champions.

Amidst this, Barkley has been full of praise for the former Lille man who recently tipped him to be one of the best in the world. Speaking to reporters, he said: “He’s a magnificent player. You can see how he started the season and the World Cup that he had, you don’t get many players like him. He’s capable of magic at any moment and to hear the things that he’s said, it’s great for me get to hear a player like that say so many great things about myself. It’s important [he stays] because he’s been at Chelsea for a long time. He’s achieved so much. But I can’t speak for Eden. He knows in his mind what he wants but I’d love to play with him for many more years.”

Hazard was one of the standout performers for Belgium during the World Cup as they secured the bronze medal ahead of England following the playoff. He has since managed to replicate his form with the Blues without showing any sign of fatigue and he has already amassed seven goals and three assists from just the opening eight league games for the club.

Based on this, it is quite visible that the attacker has taken his game to the next level but there remains doubts whether he would stay put with the Blues for the long-term. Hazard has regularly flirted with the idea of joining Los Blancos and the Blues could be tempted to sanction his sale next summer, should he fail to agree upon a contract extension until then. He has just 20 months left on his existing deal with the west London giants.