Antonio Conte has rejected Daniel Levy’s offer to sign Real Madrid star Eden Hazard for Tottenham, according to reports in Spain.
Conte has been promised funds to improve the team in the January transfer window with Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic believed to be on the Italian’s shortlist.
Hazard, meanwhile, has struggled to make any impact at Santiago Bernabeu since his £88.5m transfer move from Chelsea in 2019.
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Carlo Ancelotti has already indicated that he would not stand in the player’s way if he did want to leave Madrid in the January window.
Newcastle United and Chelsea have both been linked with a move for the Belgium international, but El Chiringuito claims that Tottenham have also been monitoring his situation at Madrid.
It’s claimed that Levy is keen on the idea of bringing Hazard to Tottenham, but, Conte is not supportive of the move as he was unhappy with the player’s effort levels during their time together at Stamford Bridge.
Instead, Conte has suggested to Levy that he makes a push to resign Gareth Bale to Spurs.
‘Daniel Levy would like to take a Real Madrid player who is always injured,’ Spanish journalist Eduardo Inda told El Chiringuito.
‘He wanted to sign Eden Hazard, but Conte has told him ‘no’ because he knows him from when he trained at Chelsea and says that he has little intensity and that he is not a very hard worker.
‘The most striking thing is the player that Conte has asked Levy to take him to London. He is Gareth Bale. ‘Bale ends his contract at the end of the season, but in winter he would not be free.’
Hazard, who was part of Conte’s team which won the Premier League title in 2017, later conceded that he was unhappy with the manager’s ‘rigid’ reign.
‘When you meet Italian coaches like I did you are less happy,’ said the Belgian. ‘They are more rigid and repetitive. You find pleasure in victory. I spent three years with Italian coaches so to rediscover this pleasure again makes me happy.’
