Eden Hazard claims he will stay at Chelsea for 'another couple of years'

Eden Hazard has indicated an intention to stay with Premier League champions Chelsea for another "couple of years", seemingly closing the door on any potential big-money summer transfer to Real Madrid.

The former PFA player of the year returned to his scintillating best last term, recovering from a forgettable season of toil to play an influential role in a superb first year under Antonio Conte that nearly ended in a memorable double.

Speculation regarding Hazard's future has inevitably increased since the end of the 2016-17 campaign.

Reports from The Sun recently claimed that La Liga winners and Champions League finalists Real, seemingly also back on the trail of another long-term target in Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, were prepared to table a world-record bid of £100m ($128.8m) in order to entice Chelsea.

While such an astronomical fee would surely be difficult for the club to resist, Hazard insists he is happy to remain at Stamford Bridge for the foreseeable future amid suggestions that negotiations over a contract extension will begin when he returns from international duty with Belgium. The 26-year-old's current deal is not due to expire until 2020.

"I'm good here," he said in an interview with English-language Singaporean daily The Straits Times. "I'm at one of the best clubs in the world and I think I'm gonna stay for a couple of years. I'm very happy. You can see [from my performances] on the pitch that I'm happy.

"Next season, we will have the Champions League to play but we want to keep the Premier League trophy in Chelsea. It's going to be hard but we know [people] expect a lot from Chelsea now."

Hazard remained coy on a possible return to Chelsea for Belgian colleague Romelu Lukaku, who is being coveted by both Conte and Jose Mourinho after another stellar season in which he notched 26 goals and finished as runner-up to Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot.

Agent Mino Raiola confirmed this week that Lukaku had been promised that he could leave Goodison Park during the upcoming transfer window if certain unnamed suitors came calling.

"He's still young, only 24 but every season he has scored a lot of goals in the Premier League and this shows he's a good striker because the Premier League is very tough," Hazard said. "But it's not my job to say we need him. The owner and manager are there to buy players. We will see."