England legend John Terry praises young Chelsea star amid transfer rumours

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John Terry is hopeful Chelsea hold onto one academy product who has been linked with a transfer, saying the young defender ‘reminds me of myself’.

Chelsea host Aston Villa on Sunday as they look to continue their bright start to the season and establish themselves as genuine Premier League title contenders.

Their attack has been widely praised but their back-line has come under fire, with some suggesting that new defenders and goalkeepers are needed if the Blues want to beat the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.

They may not need to delve into the transfer market however, as, according to the man himself, they already have the ‘next John Terry’ on their books.

The legendary Chelsea captain is considered one of England’s best-ever centre-backs, keeping a record 214 clean sheets in 492 Premier League appearances, and currently works as the club’s academy coach.

It was there where he first encountered Alfie Gilchrist, with Terry telling the Daily Mail: ‘Literally from the first training session in which I saw him, he reminded me of myself. He was keen to learn, asking me questions about defending and constantly picking my brains over what I would do in different situations.

‘And he's 100 per cent in everything he does. Whether that's the warm-up to get him going, he's all-in. You don't ever want to take that away. Even on his recovery days, he's 100 miles per hour.

‘As he gets older, he'll understand how to manage that and how to be. But it's a great trait to have for a young player and it can certainly set you apart.

‘If you're at Chelsea, you've got great ability in the first place to be there. But it's really important for younger players to have that mentality and Alfie had that in abundance even from an early age.’

Gilchrist, 21, made his Chelsea debut last December and went onto make 17 appearances in total for Mauricio Pochettino, before being loaned to Sheffield United for this season where he has performed very well in the Championship.

The defender is loving life at Bramall Lane and even recently suggested he would be happy to return next season: ‘As soon as I heard about Sheffield United, that's all I was interested in.

‘I wanted to get here as soon as possible. I'd been here last season when I was on the bench. I saw the atmosphere and thought this was somewhere I'd like to play.

‘There was a big squad at Chelsea, I wanted to play this season, and this is what I needed to do for myself. So far, it's worked out to be the right decision.

‘I feel like I'm progressing with every game. I'm happy here. Promotion is the aim for us and then next season, we'll see what happens.’

Given Chelsea’s already big squad and knack for selling off academy talents, Gilchrist may struggle to break into Enzo Maresca’s side but Terry is hopeful this is not the case.

The five-time Premier League winning captain said: ‘Hopefully, he comes back to Chelsea and breaks through into our team. Alfie and all of his family are Chelsea, too, so I know deep down he wants to come back and break through.

‘When you see the journeys of these young players, and you play a small part in helping them, it's really rewarding for me, being Chelsea through and through. I love it.’

This article was first published on November 20, 2024.

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