With how incredibly gifted Eden Hazard was from a young age, when the Chelsea legend calls a player talented, they must be truly special.
The retired winger had several of Europe’s biggest clubs lining up at his door to sign him when he was still a young prospect at Lille.
But in May 2012, Eden Hazard announced his decision to sign for Chelsea in iconic fashion by making an announcement on X that read: “I’m signing for the Champions League winner.”
The former Real Madrid wideman went on to become a hero at Stamford Bridge, with even Curtis Jones claiming Hazard pips Mohamed Salah from a purely technical standpoint.
While Anthony Gordon heralded Eden Hazard’s talent as well by stating that no winger to have ever played in the Premier League was as gifted as he was.
At Chelsea, the Belgian played with a whole host of superstars at Chelsea and Real Madrid.
Eden Hazard named Gael Kakuta as the most talented player he’s ever played with
But in an interview on The Obi One Podcast, Eden Hazard told John Obi Mikel that the most talented player he has ever played with remains former Chelsea wonderkid Gael Kakuta.
“I’m going to give you one name and John knows the player, the only one I was saying, wow but when I started playing in young teams in France was Gael Kakuta.”
John Obi Mikel asked: “Yeah, he was good but do you really think he was the best player you played with?”
Eden Hazard clarified that Kakuta was not the best but his most naturally gifted teammate: “You asked me talent. Gael Kakuta by far, number one. Talent, I mean talent, wow!”
“That’s part of his story [that he did not get a chance at Chelsea], you know?”
Eden Hazard reflected on playing against Kakuta for Lille when the latter was at Lens: “I played against him a lot because I used to play for Lille and he was playing in Lens. You know, in the young team, it’s a derby, it’s north of France, it’s a derby. So, me being me, we used to win every game, 5, 6-0. Me, best player, every game. And then every time we played against him, we’re losing games, he’s best player, he’s best player, he’s best player? What? This is not normal!”
“Now, it’s easy to say but I think he went too early, Chelsea. He was 16 when he left France for Chelsea and that step at 16 is a huge step.”
How many games did Gael Kakuta play for Chelsea and where is he now?
As Eden Hazard revealed, Kakuta signed for Chelsea at just 16 years of age.
At the time, the Frenchman was one of Europe’s biggest talents and just two years later, he even made his debut for the Blues as a substitute in a 2-1 win against Wolves.
But sadly, Kakuta made just six appearances for Chelsea in total. Since then, the Lille-born forward has become quite the journeyman.
- Chelsea (2009-2015)
- Fulham (2011, LOAN)
- Bolton Wanderers (2011-2012, LOAN)
- Dijon (2012, LOAN)
- Vitesse (2012-2024, LOAN)
- Lazio (2014, LOAN)
- Rayo Vallecano (2014-2015, LOAN)
- Sevilla (2015-2016)
- Hebei China Fortune (2016-2018)
- Deportivo La Coruna (2017, LOAN)
- Amiens (2017-2018)
- Rayo Vallecano (2018-2019)
- Amiens (2019-2021)
- Lens (2020-2021, LOAN)
- Lens (2021-2022)
- Amiens (2022-2024)
- Esetghal (2024-2025)
- Sakaryaspor (2025-)
After being stuck in a vicious cycle of hopping from one loan spell to another, Kakuta finally left Chelsea to sign for Sevilla in 2015.
But despite joining one of Spain’s biggest clubs, Kakuta played in China, France, Iran and finally, Turkish second-tier side Sakaryaspor who are his current employers.
The former RC Lens trickster might have not lived up to the hype but perhaps even Chelsea not regret getting the best out of such a special talent.
