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Notes & Quotes: February 14, 2020; Open Thread

Real Madrid doctors say Hazard is not fully fit, a Van de Beek update and potential El Clasico rematch in Las Vegas

UEFA Champions League”Real Madrid v Paris Saint-Germain”

Real Madrid doctors reportedly say Hazard is only 60% fit

According to a new report from MARCA, Eden Hazard is “only 60% of his optimal level” as he continues towards his return to the pitch for Real Madrid. This refers to him not being up to full performance level yet, which is understandable as he hasn’t featured in an actual match yet.

With this being reported, Hazard is still expected to make his first appearance back against Celta Vigo on Sunday. It makes sense that Hazard wouldn’t be fully fit until he gets playing time again, which should happen this weekend. MARCA says the goal is to get him to around 30 minutes of action.

Hazard has been in training the last week or so with the club. It’s been a long time coming for him to make his return to the pitch for the first time in over two months. It’ll take some time for him to get back on top, but the main positive is that he will likely be back in action this weekend.

Van de Beek offers update on transfer saga

Ajax’s Donny Van de Beek has been rumored to join Real Madrid in the summer window. De Telegraaf reported last month that an agreement had been made between clubs for the 22-year-old midfielder to transfer this summer.

Van de Beek has offered some comments in an interview with Dutch outlet Algemeen Dagblad (via Football España) that shows this might not have happened as reported.

“It makes no sense.”

“I can’t control what people say. I think it’s premature. I have often said: I will not hurry. I’m fine here. If it happens, it happens.”

Van de Beek has always been very brief with his comments on these transfer rumors, which is the right thing to do when talks aren’t seemingly finalized.

It really doesn’t appear that a move is close to being done, if Real are even interested. We likely won’t know fully until the summer window actually opens and will have to continue waiting for this to play out.

Real Madrid and Barcelona could be set to play in Las Vegas

According to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, talks are ongoing to bring El Clásico back to the United States in August at the new Allegiant Stadium that’s set to open in July.

This would be part of the International Champions Cup tournament and one of the first sporting events in Las Vegas’ newest sports stadium. If you recall, El Clásico was played for the first time in the US in Miami, Florida several summers ago.

SoFi Stadium, which is also set to open this summer, in Los Angeles, California is also being considered as the location for this rivalry match. This will be the shared home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.

Allegiant Stadium will be the new home of the NFL’s Las Vegas (formerly Oakland) Raiders. If the deal goes through, fútbol will be played at one of these stadiums before the American football season even kicks off.

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