Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Danyal Khan

Eden Hazard has already told Thomas Tuchel how to get the best out of Chelsea star Romelu Lukaku

Eden Hazard has already approved the moment Romelu Lukaku confronted Hakim Ziyech in Chelsea's draw against Brighton as the Belgian winger believes this is the key to unlocking the club record signing.

Lukaku, 28, has really not lived up to his promise so far of making it up to the Blues fanbase on the pitch with his actions after the infamous Sky Italia interview.

"I will not talk about single players. Today isn't about Romelu. There are too many questions about Romelu and too many answers about Romelu. Romelu is by far not the problem, he is part of the solution," a frustrated Thomas Tuchel said after the second Brighton draw this season.

The Blues broke the deadlock in the 28th minute at the Amex Stadium through Ziyech, who fired a powerful low strike past Robert Sanchez.

However, the Moroccan playmaker refused to celebrate, casually walking away after he had seen the ball go into the back of the net.

And club-record signing Lukaku was then seen visibly frustrated when the former Ajax star was unable to play a pass behind the Brighton defence, playing it to the Belgian's feet instead, later in the half.

Their conversation didn't end there either as the two forwards continued to talk when the half-time whistle blew, with Lukaku appearing to explain where he wanted his teammate to play the ball as they headed down the tunnel.

It's a chain chain of incidents that had Chelsea fans worried alongside Alan Shearer about the potential squad unrest that is going on behind the scenes at this current moment, but Hazard has already squashed these worries with his own admission about one of the players involved in this heated exchange.

Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku ((Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images))

Hazard and Lukaku both have good rapport from their international relationship with the Belgium Red Devils but that said connection has been tested over the years.

There was one moment when the Chelsea club legend accused the Blues' number 9 of 'hiding' in Belgium's 2018 World Cup opener against Panama- a confrontation that actually got the best out of the current 'unhappy' striker.

"I didn't want to say that I was well within my rights to confront him, because I'm not always right," Hazard told FIFA.com via FotMob three years ago.

"But I think we saw a different Romelu in the second half with his two goals [against Panama].

"I don't tend to talk a lot, but if I have to then I'll do it.

"There are some players you can be a little more direct with and others you have to approach in a different way."

Maybe there is a silver lining for Chelsea from this latest episode between Ziyech and Lukaku and just like Hazard, Cole doesn't believe confrontational moments between teammates is always a bad thing.

"I had no problem with this," Joe Cole stated on BT Sport. "If you would have had cameras in the dressing room when i’ve played, we've had proper rows. For me, no problems with this. Two lads arguing or discussing. No problem with that."

Can Hazard's re-signing bring the best out of the former Inter Milan man and at the same time, mend Chelsea's lacklustre and 'tired' attack that has all but ended their Premier League title chances this term?

Well, it seems Marina Granovskaia and co have a lot of work to do if they are to convince Hazard that a return to SW6 is the right 'option' for him at this current moment in time.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.