I think Hazard is more of a sure thing at this point. I would rather go for that.

But that said, I would most like to go for someone who is absolutely ready to contribute. Okay, back to work for me

kamikaze wrote:
Tony Montana wrote:

The fact he's English has nothing to do with whether he's good enough for us or not.

it has to do with why he's rated at 10m GBP though. absurd price. and we have plenty of homegrown players already, so that's not a factor.

Well at the moment he is said to be rated at £5m.

It seems likely that Hazard would be even more overpriced.

Hazard is already doing all the goods for a few years in france now, he will make an instant impact in our side surely.

Tim wrote:

It seems likely that Hazard would be even more overpriced.

I don't like to think of it as 'even more overpriced'. You'd just be paying a little more for the additional development that has already happened. With Oxlade, you'd be getting a bit of a discount because he is at an even more formative stage than Hazard, and it is less clear how his talents will eventually develop

Captain wrote:

Well at the moment he is said to be rated at £5m.

says initial fee of £5m, rising to £10m. similar to theo's deal, which makes sense cos didn't someone from s'hampton say they were looking for walcott money? it is an absurd price. like darren bent.

Why is that absurd?

If he is a success, we pay £10m; that's a bargain.

I wouldn't be shocked at all if most of what that blog says s true. I reckon we've definitely spoken to Hazard, with Lille's permission might I add, and both sides are positive about an eventual move. Whether we'll get outbid or are prepared to pay what Lille are asking for, is another question altogether.

I reckon we'll get him in the summer, for a deal worth around £20M in total, with all the add-ons and clauses thrown in. Fingers crossed.

I don't think there's any doubt we will try to sign him this summer. Hopefully we can find an agreeable fee, if we do he's ours.

I don't completely buy the Goonblog story, but there is definitely something fishy going on there.

Go into next season with Hazard, Arshavin, Walcott and Nasri and eventually get Oxlade to replace the russian. That's just dreamy levels of depth.

i'm pretty sure we'd cash in on arshavin if we got hazard.

Oxlade wouldn't even factor for a while, I guess. When you consider how long it took Walcott and Bale to get their act together, Oxlade would probably only start being a factor in 2013 or later

Soccernet wrote:

Arsene Wenger admits that he will try and sign Lille midfielder Eden Hazard, but only when he is made available for transfer.
Wenger has been watching Ligue 1's Young Player of the Year for the past two seasons and, although the Belgian is currently rated at around £15 million, has claimed he will make a move for the midfielder when the time is right.

''He's a player that I have followed for some time, but I do not want to unsettle Lille now,'' explained Wenger. ''When he is available for transfer, we will see if there is the possibility to sign him.''

Hazard is currently contracted to the French league leaders until 2014 and any deal looks likely to be delayed until the summer.

I suspect initial talks between the clubs have already taken place.

10 days later

Chelsea sniffing around him according to yesterday's papers.

Gutted if we lose out on him.

I'd pay someone to take Rosicky at the minute, I'd hope it's him we move on.

Denilson ^ rather than Shava