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Former Chelsea star Frank Leboeuf believes Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen is a more influential player than both Paul Pogba and Eden Hazard, per ESPN.

What’s he said?

Eriksen, of course, scored the winner as Spurs beat Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 on Tuesday evening.

The result leaves Spurs in an advantageous position in the race to qualify for the Champions League next season, and leaves them clear of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United in the chasing pack.

And Leboeuf, a former France international, believes that Eriksen’s goal proved that he has more influence over his team than United’s Pogba and the Blues’ Hazard.

Speaking to ESPN, he said: “I really, really love Eriksen. He is a fantastic player.

“We can talk sometimes about Manchester United with Pogba and Chelsea with Eden Hazard but if there is one guy who can make the difference for his team it is Eriksen.

“He can find the magical pass or score the goal like he did against Brighton and he is a fantastic player.

“I think it just confirms that out of the top four teams fighting for the top four, they are the best team.”

Utter nonsense

This is the definition of a “hot-take” that only stands up after Eriksen has scored.

This season, he has scored six times and laid on 12 assists in the Premier League. Hazard, by comparison, has scored 16 and assisted 13. Pogba has scored 13 and provided nine.

Chelsea without Hazard would surely be out of the race to finish in the top four. United without Pogba would be lower than sixth. Spurs without Eriksen would simply play Dele Alli in a more advanced role and likely pick up similar results.

This is not to decry his match-winning display against the Seagulls or the fact that he is a wonderfully gifted playmaker, but to make the claim that he is a more influential player than both Hazard and Pogba is simply false, mainly due to the fact that those two players have much less quality around them than the Dane.

As an ex-Chelsea man, Leboeuf should know better.