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Real Madrid making Anderson plan B indicates they’ve given up on signing Mane

Sam Preston

Sat 23 March 2019 12:15, UK

Eden Hazard is Real Madrid’s top summer target this summer, as Zinedine Zidane looks to take the club back to the pinnacle of both Spanish and European football upon his return to the club,

That long-standing interest is hardly a secret but they also that Real have already tabled a bid for the Belgian, testing Chelsea’s resolve to hold out for £120m.

In truth, Hazard should really be looking to leave Chelsea. He has dragged their faltering attack along all season, Champions League qualification looks an outside bet, Maurizio Sarri’s job security oscillates wildly and the club cannot sign new players for two transfer windows.

But that just in case Real cannot lure Hazard to the Bernabeu, they’ve installed West Ham’s Felipe Anderson as a Plan B, willing to pay £65m for the Brazilian playmaker.

Earlier this week, that Zidane’s return had piqued Madrid’s interest in Liverpool’s Sadio Mane.

As a high-profile Premier League left winger, it was reasonable to assume that this was Real’s Hazard Plan B, but the latest reports around Anderson appear to indicate that Zidane is no longer that interested in the man who scored against his side in last season’s Champions League final.

That’s a major boost to Liverpool’s hopes of keeping the man report earns £100,000 a week at Anfield – a figure Madrid would fancy themselves to considerably boost – and who is keeping their title hopes on track.

There’s no indication that Mane would have left, but avoiding a long-running transfer saga with one of Spanish football’s top two sides is always a boon.