Jamie Carragher has been waxing lyrical about Eden Hazard all week.
The Chelsea star was in glittering form during the Carabao Cup clash with Liverpool on Wednesday, emerging from the bench to score a stunning individual winner.
At the time, Carragher was on commentary and instantly proclaimed that Hazard was the best player in the Premier League, a comment that sparked its fair share of debate on Twitter.
It led the Sky Sports pundit to justify his opinion with a lengthly column on the matter with the Telegraph and he certainly put together a strong argument.
“Hazard brings something the others do not – dribbling ability, running at pace, beating several men from deep before delivering a spectacular finish,” he explained in the article.
Carragher thinks Hazard is the Premier League's best
“He has the capacity to make you shout ‘wow’ as I did when he scored the goal that knocked Liverpool out of the Carabao Cup.
“We tend to rate such individuals above those other technical players whose forte is wonderful passing or prolific goalscoring.
“Whether Hazard accepts a 30 goal target for this season or not, he has the ability to reach it.”
Carragher and Gerard's Instagram exchange
So, it’s fair to say that Carragher rates the Chelsea man but it may seems a little strange given his allegiances to Liverpool and a certain Mohamed Salah.
Save that thought because Carragher took to Instagram to advertise his column on Friday afternoon, once again reiterating that Hazard is the best.
It was a post that caught the eye of none other than Rangers manager Steven Gerrard who, of course, gained legendary status at Liverpool alongside Carragher after years of service.
And seeing his old teammate proclaim Hazard as the very best just didn’t sit right with him, so he commented: “Salah for me James!”
Carragher was prepared, though, and swiftly responded: “thought you’d have gone for Morelos or Lafferty!”
Check out the full exchange below:
Salah vs Hazard debate
Chasing a career in management hasn’t taken Gerrard’s sense of humour, then.
Gerrard has kept his loyalties to his old club Liverpool by maintaining that Salah is the Premier League’s finest but based on this season alone, Carragher’s argument stands strongest.
Although Salah has still experienced a positive start to the campaign, Hazard has been on a different level with a series of brilliant performances.
However, if Salah can rediscover the form that made him so unstoppable in 2017-18 then Gerrard will be sitting smugly come May.
It’s certainly an interesting debate amongst football fans and there’s strong arguments on both sides.
We’re sure Manchester City will have something to say about it all between now and the end of the season but the more games that pass, the more intriguing the debate will become.
Who do you think is the better player - Hazard or Salah? Have your say in the comments section below.