Chelsea Tactics and Transfers: Maurizio Sarri will not unlock Eden Hazard

Maurizio Sarri is likely going to be the next Chelsea manager. Known for his attacking flair and tactics, Sarri could peculiarly not mesh with Chelsea’s best-attacking talent.

Disclaimer: “Tactics and Transfers” is the name of Barrett Rouen’s weekly column. It may not include any direct discussion of Chelsea’s tactics and / or transfers. Carry on.

I have had a lot of trouble with some of the Chelsea narrative surrounding Antonio Conte, Eden Hazard and Maurizio Sarri this year. This is mainly centered around Conte’s recurring choice to use Eden Hazard as a No. 9 / false 9, a move many – Hazard included – hated.

Hazard should be one of the best false nine’s in the world, but for some reason has never taken to it. Eden Hazard’s style of play is closest to Lionel Messi’s. That’s already an unbelievable comparison. Hazard is at times both quicker and much stronger than Messi, in addition to having similar levels of control and trickery. This means Hazard has all the ability to be a perfect fit where Conte tried him. Yet many times his desire and mentality left Chelsea wanting.

That is why it is so peculiar. Antonio Conte did the most obvious and straightforward thing with Eden Hazard, and received heaps of criticism for it. Chelsea have the blessing of one of the few players of all time who genuinely possess the talent to rival Messi. Yet they are cursed by that player lacking the killer instinct and hunting prowess the Argentinian maestro has developed.

This, then, is where the Maurizio Sarri idiocy becomes hilarious. Dries Mertens is the driving force in Sarri’s style of football, playing in the same role that Messi does and Hazard refuses to. People are suggesting that Sarri will be the one to fix this. How, exactly?  By trying the same thing Chelsea’s current genius does?

Eden Hazard’s mentality is one of the biggest issues at Chelsea, and why it wouldn’t be absurd to accept a massive bid for him and just start over. The best and most important player on your team, the highest paid and most influential player has to be a leader. There’s no way around it. You can have stars who aren’t leaders in teams that have more general leadership than Chelsea. However, in the vacuum left by John Terry, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Petr Cech there is no such leadership at Chelsea. None. The leaders are players like Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard, whose metrics on the matter can really only be counted in narratives.

Those expecting Sarri to not run into the exact same problem as Conte are simply wrong. That, or Hazard will show his true colors by succeeding for Sarri where he refused Conte, and the problem will be obvious.

Obviously, Eden Hazard with a better mentality and more of an assassin’s attitude would be the best thing for the club. He could and should be the sort of genius people talk about for a hundred years after he’s done playing. When they’re coaching children down at Wormwood Scrubs or the Bois de Boulogne, coaches, fathers, mothers should be telling their children about how “Hazard used to do it.”  But that sadly does not look like it’s going to happen.

Next: Chelsea celebrating 15 years of Roman Abramovich with a spending spree

Changing to Maurizio Sarri and expecting a massive change at this point is a bit ridiculous. If Chelsea can get £170 million for the Belgian then they may as well do it. He doesn’t seem to want to achieve his final form and his potential at Chelsea, and that is probably the biggest tragedy of them all.