Chelsea will struggle to hold onto both Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois this summer, according to reputable journalist Duncan Castles.

The Blues’ duo have both been linked with moves away from Stamford Bridge this summer, with Real Madrid said to be interested in the pair.

Castles believes Hazard will ‘definitely move’ this summer if the right club come calling, and says they have a serious problem with Courtois, who is into the final year of his contract.

It would be nothing short of a disaster if the duo left, as they are arguably the best players at the club. But with both of them seemingly unwilling to pen new deals, and uncertainty surrounding manager Antonio Conte, perhaps the situation is more of a prospect than first feared.

Speaking on the Transfer Window podcast, Castles said: “Several of the Chelsea players don’t want Antonio Conte there and are quite happy in the knowledge he will either walk or be sacked and won’t be there when they come back for pre-season training.

“I think Willian is a very obvious example of that.

“It suits someone like Eden Hazard, who is waiting to see if a bigger club, in particularly Real Madrid, finally come in and make a formal offer for him. I think Chelsea have a serious problem here.

“He will definitely move if he gets the right move this summer. Thibaut Courtois has told Chelsea he’s not interested in signing a new contract. He is hoping to move this summer.

“He’s prepared to wait until next summer when his contract is up, but he would like to get a move – ideally to Madrid, ideally Real Madrid, although I’m told that is unlikely at present.

“He thinks Alisson will be the choice as goalkeeper – but he’s sees the option of Atletico were Jan Oblak to leave.

“Courtois is a serious problem for Chelsea in that he will leave for nothing if they don’t sell him this summer.

“Chelsea value him at €100m. I don’t see any way they get that money in this market for a player who has one-year on his contract and has decided he’s got to leave.

“They also have the difficulty of the shortened Premier League transfer window. So if they are going to cash in on Courtois this summer, then they need to buy a new goalkeeper before the transfer window closes for Premier League clubs.

“And that will probably allow Courtois three additional weeks in which to market himself to other clubs who can then work without the competition of other Premier League teams.

“But that would probably bring his price down.”

It leaves Chelsea in a really awkward position, one that needs to be resolved as soon as possible but isn’t helped by the World Cup being on for the next four weeks followed by the pair probably taking a few weeks of holiday.