Real Madrid are set to announce the signing of Mariano Diaz, all but confirming they have ended their pursuit of Chelsea’s Eden Hazard.
SPORT report that Los Blancos are preparing to finalise the deal for Diaz, with Sevilla admitting defeat in the race for the forward who joined Lyon last summer.
The 25-year-old had was a Real player from 2012 to 2017, when he made the move to Ligue 1 to join Lyon.
A year of regular first-team football, and the Spanish giants are ready to activate the buy-back clause in Diaz’s contract which would see him return to the Bernabeu.
Sevilla had an agreement in place with Lyon to begin negotiations with the player, but Real have hijacked the move to beat their La Liga rivals to Diaz’s signature.
The Dominican Republic international made 45 appearances for Lyon last year, scoring 21 goals.
The news will be welcomed by Chelsea fans, who at times this summer had been wary of losing their two best players to Real Madrid in the same transfer window, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois having already made the move to the Spanish capital.
