Former Premier League midfielder Steven Defour has suggested that Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel "likes to argue" despite his excellent record at Stamford Bridge.
The German was appointed as Frank Lampard’s replacement in west London over a year ago and has enjoyed a trophy-laden reign thus far.
He led the club to their second Champions League trophy, whilst also claiming the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
Further appearances in the FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals have been yet more impressive achievements from the former Paris Saint-Germain boss.
However, Defour has fired a surprising shot at Tuchel, having suggested that he thrives on disagreements within his ranks - Romelu Lukaku’s contentious interview being his main point of reference.
Speaking with Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws, the former Burnley man said: "I think he’s a good trainer, but he likes to argue. The way he handled Lukaku in front of the camera in public, I would never do that."
Intriguingly, Tuchel has recently been speaking about the Belgian forward and has allayed fears over their relationship - and indeed the former Inter Milan man’s stuttering form.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend’s clash with Crystal Palace, he said: "I still believe he will because he has done.
"We need a bit more patience than we maybe all have or wanted to have with his signing. We demand a lot of our strikers in terms of intensity, so there are several reasons why things are maybe like this, but we are on it.”
The German continued: “It's an ongoing process. We still have trust because he has proved at any club he has played for he is the guy who gets the last touch on attacks – he had a very important goal in the Club World Cup final.
"Disappointed is not the right word but, of course, we thought for him, and for him as well I'm pretty sure, he wanted to produce the numbers right from the start. But we are all humans and we keep on going. We demand at lof defensively from our strikers as well."
