When I began my blogging career eight years ago I didn’t give much thought to what I’d write about. The first post just happened to be about football - because I was angry - but when I christened the blog What Would David Bowie Do?, most assumed it would have a musical connection. I now realise that, over the last few weeks, it has been exclusively about football. But, then, can you blame me when there have been such sumptuous pickings from the beautiful game to blog about?
Today, my friends, will be no different. Matters musical can and will wait. Because - and I know the World Cup confetti has barely been Hoovered up, but things move quickly - Chelsea burst back into my consciousness at the end of last week with, finally, the firing of Antonio Conte and...er...finally, the hiring of Maurizio Sarri. Sarri appeared yesterday in his first interview for Chelsea's in-house TV channel and gave an impressive, eloquent account of himself. Speaking in fluent English (a marked contrast to Conte at the start, although he worked hard to learn the language) Sarri set out his intent: "I think with one or two adjustments, we can try to play my football," he said, perhaps making reference to the entertaining style he employed at Napoli and which first drew Chelsea's attention to the former banker.
The bigger headache, however, for Sarri will be holding on to players, in particular, Eden Hazard, but also Thibaut Courtois, Willian and Gary Cahill (who, being over 30 and slipping behind Antonio Rudiger and, potentially, Rugani, is unlikely to get any more gametime under Sarri than he was getting from Conte). Willian grew increasingly frustrated last season - most notably in the FA Cup Final, when he was only brought off the bench in the 91st minute, having spent most of the game warming up on the touchline. Courtois, who has just one more season to run on his contract, has been hinting at a move back to Madrid for some time, largely due to his children still living there with their mother, Marta Domínguez, the goalkeeper's former partner.
But it is Hazard who poses the greatest challenge for Sarri and Chelsea. Having captained Belgium to third place in the World Cup, the club has given the mercurial midfielder three weeks off to recover - a generous amount of time and long enough to give plenty of thought as to what he might do next. At the weekend he hinted at what that could be, saying that "it might be time to discover something different" after six "wonderful years" at Chelsea. And, guess what? Ronaldo's move to Juve just created a vacancy on the left side of the attack at Real Madrid, the club Hazard referred to on Saturday as "my preferred destination". That may well be the case, but Madrid are apparently eyeing up either Neymar or Kylian Mbappe as first-choice targets.
For his part, Hazard is hardly agitating for a move. The affable Belgian has always been relaxed about his future (and the latest rumouring is nothing new). "It is not my decision, he told reporters on Saturday. "The club will decide. Now I just want to go on holidays and we will see what happens."
A further question is, can Chelsea afford to lose him? Hazard is, without doubt, the best player on their books. I would even argue that, on his day, he's the best player in the Premier League. That's an asset any club would be reluctant to give up. But having helped Chelsea to two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League, at 27 the club has certainly had the best out of him, and could be tempted to cash in. Even if Madrid is unlikely to spend anything like what Chelsea want for Hazard, he would certainly not go cheaply, which would raise decent funds for some of the names on Sarri's list.
It would be a wrench to see the charismatic Belgian go, but maybe the time is right. Better now while he is relatively relaxed about both his relationship with Chelsea and his future, rather than when he is agitated and demotivated, as Diego Costa was when he was eventually released to Atlético Madrid. Under Conte last season, Hazard continued to demonstrate his worth, week in, week out, unlocking defences like no other and winning critical spot kicks, as he did in the FA Cup Final in May, an otherwise dire affair in which the only thing separating Chelsea and Manchester United was Hazard's penalty.
Sarri promises a fresh start and a new approach, which may be enriched by new signings that could also compensate for Hazard's potential departure. Jorginho - while no direct replacement - is certainly one of the most coveted creative midfielders in Europe (his signing was a major blow to Pep Guardiola, who'd earmarked him as a replacement for Yaya Touré at Manchester City). That said, Hazard could be a player whom Sarri would want to build his team around, even with the acquisition of his 'own' players.
Despite maintaining that his future will be up to Chelsea's to decide, much depends on the player himself. Chelsea fans are somewhat sanguine about Hazard's future. Knowing that nothing in football lasts forever, some could even be forgiven for thinking that it's amazing he's lasted as long as he has in West London, given all the comparisons to Messi and Ronaldo. "He is a player who has maturity and a lot of leadership," said his Belgium national team boss, Roberto Martinez in an interview with Spanish radio. "Hazard could carry a new project anywhere in the world. He is at the best moment of his career. He could fit in any team in the world." Over the next three weeks we will find out whether that team continues to be Chelsea or not.
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