Chelsea made to sweat extra day over £80m pursuit

CHELSEA'S fight to keep star midfielder Eden Hazard away from Real Madrid's clutches has taken a knock, according to reports.

 

Eden Hazard is reportedly wanted by Real Madrid

 

Real are thought to be keen on landing Hazard, 25, before the end of the transfer window.

He was earmarked by Bernabeu president Florentino Perez as the 'Galactico' target for this summer.

 

But FIFA's imposition of a transfer embargo on Real means the club are reportedly being forced to act now.

And The Sun claim football authorities in La Liga have handed Real a boost in their £80million pursuit of Hazard - by extending the Spanish transfer window by a day.

 

Spain's window was due to shut at 23:59 GMT on 31 January.

However, that deadline has been extended an extra day so as to fall in line with many other European leagues - including England's.

According to the claims, Real are willing to match Chelsea's asking price for the midfielder, who is yet to score for the Blues this season.

 

Real will be unable to sign players for the next two transfer windows after breaching FIFA rules on the signing of players under the age of 18.

Atletico Madrid have also been handed the same embargo, while Barcelona have only just emerged from their year-long ban for the same breach.