Rio Ferdinand has picked the Premier League’s best stopper. He preferred the Chelsea defender to van Dijk and Dias

Virgil van Dijk, Ruben Dias or Harry Maguire? Nope, the former Manchester United stopper extraordinaire voted Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger as the best defender in the Premier League.

Chelsea have conceded just 23 goals in 38 games since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel, a big difference compared to the 116 goals (84 games) conceded by the London side under Frank Lampard.

“Since Tuchel came in, I think he’s the best stopper in the league, ” Ferdinand told the Metro.

Of course, the German coach, who is known for his excellent strategic skills, has the biggest part to play in the improved performance, but without great players, it just wouldn’t have been possible!

Rudiger was practically from the beginning a very important player for Tuchel to build his defensive line on. And he has been trusted even in the current season, in which he has played 7 games so far, during which he contributed one league goal to Tottenham’s net.

However, under the previous coach, Rudiger didn’t have it easy at all and there were often speculations about his departure, which fortunately for Blues fans never materialized.

“When Frank Lampard was in charge of Chelsea, it was obvious that he wasn’t too fond of him. There were even rumours that he was trying to force the club to sell him,” Ferdinand confirmed the speculation.

This Premier League season, only one man, Mohamed Salah, has managed to overcome a defence led from the middle by Rudiger. That’s why Chelsea are still at the top of the English top flight.

Soon, however, Chelsea’s defence will be tested by heavy calibre players. After the cup game against Aston Villa, the Blues will welcome Manchester City to Stamford Bridge, after which they will face their opening game against Juventus.

After that, a series of 7 games against paper-weaker opponents will come, which could make Chelsea’s run in the Premier League a cracker.

Source: the Metro