Maurizio Sarri has praised Eden Hazard's
qualities as a great footballer, but says that
the Chelsea star is 'not a leader'.
Sarri hit the headlines last week for
publicly chastising his squad after a 2-0
loss to Arsenal, claiming that his players
are 'very difficult to motivate' and that they
perhaps shouldn't be playing at the highest
level.
The Italian then went on to say that a new
player, or even an 'old head', could be the
answer to turning the Blues' fortunes,
suggesting that the club lack leadership.
Sarri was questioned further on the subject
on Wednesday and the Chelsea boss cited
Cesar Azpilicueta and David Luiz as
potential leaders for the team, though
turned heads by stating Hazard is not on
that list.
“He's more of an individual player than a
leader,†Sarri said. “He's very important for
us, of course, because he's a great player.
He can win a match in two minutes,
sometimes one minute.
“He is one of the best in the world, but at
this moment he is not a leader.â€
The Italian coach went on to discuss
Hazard's ongoing contract negotiations,
with rumours of a summer switch to Real
Madrid for the Belgian still swirling.
Sarri revealed that the 28-year-old has still
not decided on his long-term future,
stating: "No, no news. I know very well that
he is discussing with the club, but I don't
know anything else at the moment.
"I think that he has not decided yet if he
wants to stay here or if he wants a new
experience in another club. I don't know
exactly the situation, but I think that Eden, at
the moment, doesn't know the final choice.â€
The Blues are back in action on Thursday
night in the Carabao Cup, hosting Spurs at
Stamford Bridge in a crucial second leg
semi-final tie.
Chelsea are a goal down after the first leg
and will need to win by a margin of two
clear goals to secure their place in the
final.
Sarri is expecting his players to bounce
back after his criticism of them at the
weekend, as he added: "I think we need to
react on the pitch. The rest is nothing.
"We discussed with the players how to try to
improve the approach, the motivation, the
determination. And so we are trying to
change something in training, in pre-match,
in everything.
"But I think we all have to react on the pitch,
of course.â€
Source:
www.tori.ng/news/114958/hazard-
is-not-a-leader-sarri.html
