Lille's Eden Hazard to lead summer French invasion of leading players to the Premier League Hazard, as he has done more often than not in recent weeks, took time out from preparing for a match to again publicly reiterate the clubs who are after him. It is an eye-watering proposition. Hazard wants £4.6 million a year net of tax (so £9 million a year in salary for any club who sign him) with an astonishing £6 million in agent's fees going to Bico. That is more than double, according to one Premier League chairman, the previously highest fee paid to an agent. It had appeared that City, who have made most of the running but have grown frustrated at the exorbitant demands, would sign Hazard but Bico belatedly interested Chelsea - with calls last Friday - and now it is becoming a case of who pays the most. And that is without any club having agreed a fee with Lille, who want around £28 million. They will not be the only French club profiting hugely this summer from England. Newcastle have shown the way with a string of successful signings - most notably Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye - and there are others to follow and ones who will come at a far higher price. A month ago Arsenal were said to be "99 per cent" certain of signing the Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila for around £16 million but might turn to Toulouse's Étienne Capoue. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has been to watch another Lille player, defender Mathieu Debuchy - set to be France's first-choice right back at euro 2012 - who is also wanted by Newcastle, while Tottenham's Harry Redknapp was in Paris last week to meet striker Loïc Rémy to finally try to prise him away from Marseilles. Then there are the surprise French champions Montpellier, whose defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa has already declared that he would like to come to England, while midfielder Younès Belhanda is also being considered by clubs who may miss out on Hazard. Above all there is powerful striker Olivier Giroud, the top scorer in the French league who is wanted by clubs across Spain and England and appears set to also arrive on these shores. Unsurprisingly, six of the players mentioned made the Ligue 1 team of the year and it is also the strength of the French league - long gone are the days of Lyon's domination - that has helped not only make it more competitive but attractive to clubs who want to cherry-pick the talent. Boys staying in Brazil In Brazil, it is called the "Kleberson Effect" and it may partly explain why shining young talents such as Neymar, Lucas Moura and Ganso are more reluctant to leave their homeland and move to Europe. An influx of new money into Brazil, with new television deals in particular, has vastly improved the finances of clubs in the country while there is pressure for a number of players to delay leaving until after the 2014 World Cup finals. But there is also much debate in Brazil about the plight of Kleberson, who was an unlikely inclusion, from Atletico Paranaense, in Luiz Felipe Scolari's team who won the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Scolari declared Kleberson the "driving force" behind the triumph and the midfielder, then 23, earned a big-money move to Manchester United. It did not work out. He made just 20 unhappy appearances in two years before moving to Turkey, then back to Brazil, and now, aged 32, he has gone full circle and is with Paranaense again having failed to fulfil the potential and still feeling bruised by his experience at United. The truth behind Mourinho It has been claimed that one reason why Jose Mourinho apparently "snubbed" Chelsea's attempts to bring him back to the club - or was it the Special One's own desire to be wanted that sparked the hullabaloo and eventually a new contract at Real Madrid? - was because he was indignant that his agent, Jorge Mendes, was contacted by Roman Abramovich's personal assistant rather than by the Russian billionaire himself. Anyone who has high-level dealings with Chelsea knows that to speak to the owner, they have to go through Marina Granovskaia, and that includes the club's manager. She may be Abramovich's "PA" in title but Granovskaia is a key figure at Chelsea, some would say, the key figure. Indeed, she was one of the few from Abramovich's inner circle who maintained a good relationship with Mourinho after he was sacked in 2007, corresponding with him via email, and is credited with persuading the Russian billionaire to even consider rebuilding links between the pair. To suggest that her involvement - if there was any involvement - in trying to bring Mourinho back was a reason behind that not happening is little more than a convenient excuse. Suit you sir How times have changed Harvey Nichols now has a box at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium to sell clothes, handbags and shoes from designers such as Jimmy Choo and Dolce & Gabbana from the luxury department store. The 8ft by 11ft box also has a personal shopper in attendance to advise fans on the latest trends and beauty therapists offering makeovers and massages. There is even a sommelier from the store to give advice on wines and spirits. Guests also get to take home a gift bag with wine, soap and macaroons in the City team colours.