This has been a seriously impressive winter for Aston Villa as Steven Gerrard sinks his teeth into a transfer market while manager of the Midlands club for the first time.
Lucas Digne and Philippe Coutinho are the marquee additions but in the mind of Johan Lange, there is more work to be done before the window slams shut.
What’s the word?
This has been a rather momentous 24 hours in the world of Villa’s recruitment team if you believe reports.
They are still very much interested in Yves Bissouma while an offer has even been tabled for Luis Suarez according to sources in Spain.
If that wasn’t enough, they’ve now been urged to make a move for another superstar plying his trade in the Spanish capital; Eden Hazard.
That’s the word of former Dutch star Johan Boskamp who told Het Nieuwsblad, via Sport Witness: “I really hope he changes clubs this winter
“Then maybe he can play 25 games in the next few months. Because if he stays at Real, I don’t think he will play many more games this season.
“And then the World Cup is coming up. It’s a tricky situation. I don’t dare say Chelsea are the answer.”
Boskamp continued: “Eden plays better in a team that has the ball. So I don’t know if he fits into coach Thomas Tuchel’s plans. He has also brought back Lukaku, and that is not going well either.
“They could also loan Eden to Aston Villa or another club. It doesn’t matter where; he just has to play. That’s the most important thing.”
Time to revive Hazard
The Belgian sensation has rather gone off the rails since swapping Chelsea for Real Madrid but there is no denying that he is still a remarkable player.
He has scored just five goals in 59 outings since a mega £89m move back in 2019 but the fact of the matter is that Hazard is someone who not only knows English football inside out, but is a player who performed spectacularly during his time at Chelsea.
The 31-year-old racked up a supremely high volume of 110 goals while contributing a seriously impressive tally of 92 assists as well.
In the process, Hazard won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and also took home two Europa League trophies.
It was his performances that played a massive hand in securing those honours and he was met with some eye-catching praise as a result.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp hailed him as a “special” player, while others mentioned the forward in the same breath as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Furthermore, he has been compared to one of the greats we’ve seen on English shores. Christophe Dugarry once said of the Belgium international: “He’s faster than Zidane, more technique than Thierry Henry.”
Of course, his stock has fallen since those appraisals, so much so that Madrid reportedly accepted a €40m (£33m) proposal from Newcastle for his services, only for the player to reject them.
With that in mind, he may well reject any potential advance from Lange and co too, but a six-month stint alongside Coutinho is surely attractive for Hazard.
His star isn’t burning quite so bright as it was but he is still special and there is never any reason to question his technique.
A fifth deal of the winter when you consider incomings and outgoings, specifically Hazard, is unlikely for Villa but if a deal can be struck, he’d be quite the coup.
AND in other news, Sky Sports journo drops exciting AVFC transfer update on live TV, fans surely buzzing…