Friday, 24th June, 2011
Lille have poured cold water on talk that Belgian forward Eden Hazard could leave the club this summer.
Hazard has been targeted by just about any club that matters in European football after his outstanding performances for Lille as the northern France club claimed the Ligue 1 title. Talk even began to compare the 20-year-old with the legendary French international Zinedine Zidane, with the former playmaker advising Real Madrid to take the Belgian to the Bernabeu.
However, there has been little movement for Hazard as yet, and Lille are desperate to keep hold of the youngster for their Champions League campaign next season.
"Hazard won’t move from Lille", the club’s deputy general director Frederic Paquet told RMC.
"The boy won’t leave us in this season, our president has said this many times."
Lille have already lost midfielder Yohan Cabaye to Newcastle, while Gervinho is expected to follow his former team-mate across the channel, with Arsenal leading the race for his services. These losses only make Lille more determined to keep hold of Hazard, for another 12 months at least.
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