ESPN Pundit Steve Nicol does not believe Eden Hazard will end his association with Chelsea, come the end of the 2017/18 season. The Belgium international has once again been influential for the Blues with 11 goals and three assists in the Premier League, but the club have not quite matched their expectations this term.

As a result, there is the talk of Antonio Conte being dismissed from the head coach role during the summer, but Nicol does not feel Hazard will follow suit, he said on ESPN FC: “He won’t (leave), partly because of that (uncertainty at Chelsea. It looks pretty certain that Conte will be leaving. So I don’t think Chelsea are going to let anybody go, certainly not until they get a new head coach. And even then, why are you getting rid of arguably your best player, your most influential player? I don’t see this happening. If Hazard does leave, I think it will be at the end of his two years he’s got left.”

Hazard had more than two years left on his present deal with the Premier League holders, and based on his recent comments, he is focused on staying put with the club. The former Lille man has previously suggested that he would only considering the Blues on his own terms, and he is still hoping to emerge as a Champions League player with the west Londoners.

Spanish giants Real Madrid have highlighted Hazard and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski as among their prime targets for the summer transfer window, but it appears that they may face disappointment with the former. Should Hazard decline a move, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah may emerge as a probable option with Egypt Hector Cuper previously claiming that Los Blancos are keeping a close watch on the attacker’s progress at Premier League side Liverpool.