Former Arsenal player Ian Wright says Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah reminds him of Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk.
Chalobah, who has been sent out on loan for the past three years, impressed during his Premier League debut as Chelsea beat Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The 22-year-old defender capped off an excellent display by scoring his first goal for the London club, a piledriver from range, before dropping to his knees.
And Wright believes the Chelsea star has everything it takes to reach the very top. He said on Ringer FC’s Wrighty’s House podcast: ‘Watching him against Arsenal [in pre-season] I was thinking, ‘wow, maybe it’s just a pre-season friendly he looks good’. I watched him against Villarreal [in the Super Cup] and I thought, ‘my god he’s really good’.
‘You know what he reminded me of, not the same player, not the same stature, but the way Virgil Van Dijk when he played for Celtic, people said he’s just taking liberties just because he’s good and not in the same standard [as others]. I watched him play for Ipswich a couple of times where he played in that vain where you think I’d like to see him against better quality.
‘Anything that Mateta or Zaha did he [Chalobah] dealt with it, but then his progression with the ball, getting forward with the ball, his tackling, the goal, the emotion.
‘The emotion when you score a goal when you know its significant, the only one I can think of myself is coming on in that cup final against Manchester United and when I scored that goal I instantly burst into tears because the realisation of what just happened it hit me.’
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Chalobah was expected to go out on loan again this campaign given the club’s strength in depth in that position and their chase for Sevilla defender Jules Kounde.
But it now seems likely that he we will stay and be part of Thomas Tuchel’s plans this season, with teammate Kurt Zouma now expected to leave.
The Blues continue their Premier League campaign against Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday, hoping to continue their good start to the season.
