Who is Gael Kakuta? The most talented player to play with Eden Hazard!
In a world in which Eden Hazard has played with some of the greatest footballers of a generation, the Chelsea legend named Gael Kakuta as the most talented player he has played with.
According to The Sun, Kakuta joined Chelsea as a highly touted 16-year-old in 2007 and only made 16 appearances for the club in six seasons.
Eden Hazard appeared on the 'Obi One Podcast' hosted by former Chelsea player John Obi Mikel and was asked who the most talented player was he had played with.
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The Chelsea legend said: ''In Real Madrid, I played with the best players in the world. For me, [Luka] Modric and [Karim] Benzema are top of the list. When you say Kevin De Bruyne, he's top of the list, when you say [Frank] Lampard he's top of the list."
''I'm going to give you one name, and John knows the player. The only one I was saying "wow" was Gael Kakuta. You asked me about talent. Kakuta, by far number one. Talent. I mean, talent. Wow.''
After catching Hazard's eye as a youngster at Lens, Chelsea signed Kakuta under controversial circumstances after breaching his contract at Lens to sign with the London club.
According to Give Me Sport, Kakuta was banned for four months and fined £665,000 due to the breach of contract. Chelsea was also banned from signing players for two transfer windows, but that was later overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
After serving his ban, Kakuta joined the Chelsea youth system, winning the Academy Player of the Year award in his first season. His performances drew the Congolese winger to Chelsea's first team picture under boss Carlo Ancelotti.
According to Give Me Sport, the 2009/10 season looked destined to be the year Kakuta would flourish in the first team, making his debut against Wolves in November 2009 and playing in his first Champions League game a month later against APOEL.
In December 2010, the Congolese winger signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Chelsea until 2015, but only played 16 games in that time. When his contract was close to expiring, he requested to leave Chelsea to get more game time.
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In six seasons under contract at Chelsea, Kakuta bounced around Europe in different loan spells, playing for Vitesse, Lazio, Rayo Vallecano, Dijon, and spells in England with Bolton and Fulham.
Since leaving Chelsea in 2015, Kakuta has had a journeyman career across the globe, playing in China, Spain, and France.
His most successful spell since leaving Chelsea in 2015 was his return to Lens, where he played 69 games, scoring 14 goals and grabbing eight assists, according to Transfermarkt.
Where is he now? Kakuta has returned to French Ligue 2 side Amiens after being part of DR Congo's impressive run at the African Cup of Nations, according to The Sun.
DR Congo made it through to the knockout rounds by the skin of their teeth, finishing with three draws and qualifying second behind Morocco.
Kakuta and his DR Congo side had a magical run to the semi-final of the competition, beating Mo Salah's Egypt, then making easy work of Guinea before losing to eventual winners Ivory Coast in the final four.
According to The Sun, Kakuta was linked with joining Spanish La Liga side Granada in January, but he has stayed with Amiens, who currently sit in mid-table of Ligue 2.
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