Real Madrid Transfers: 3 players who could be loaned in 2022

LW Eden Hazard

Another left winger shows up on this list, though you may not have had him in mind as a potential loanee for the 2022/23 season. Eden Hazard was another forward signed during the 2019 summer transfer window, but unlike Rodrygo Goes, there really doesn’t seem to be any future upside in keeping the former Chelsea superstar around.

The No. 7’s story is a sad one, and I don’t think you will find a true Madridista who is not rooting for Hazard. It’s just that the expectations of the past may be weighing on him, while the constant injuries are physically holding him back. Before his first injury against PSG in the Champions League group stages of the 2019/20 season, Hazard looked like exactly the star man Real needed with how he was creating chances and setting the tone as the leader of the attack. He and Karim Benzema had sensational chemistry at one point.

But Real Madrid cannot live in the past. If Rodrygo is going to find it hard to break into his favored position with Mbappe on his way to join Vinicius Jr., then Hazard will be completely frozen out of the lineup. Rodrygo can at least play on the right wing and offers a lot with his running and defensive work. Hazard does not have that same versatility nor all-around impact at this stage of his career.

Set to cost the team over 20 million euros in salary, Hazard is too expensive to keep around. But because of his wages and injury history, Real Madrid will find it hard to sell Hazard. A loan deal with an option to buy and some sort of wage sharing arrangement – as Real did with Tottenham for a Gareth Bale loan in 2020/21 – may be the only way for Los Blancos to transfer the Belgian this summer. Clearing his wages and spot in the attack would be important in bringing aboard another forward, especially if the Merengues want a backup striker or another right winger.