Former Chelsea captain John Terry and current Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk are arguably the two best central defenders in Premier League history.
As a result, both players are often compared to each other, and Daniel Sturridge has now weighed into the debate.
The Blues are missing a figure like Terry right now, conceding five goals in their last two Premier League outings.
Chelsea were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa over the weekend and have now dropped down to seventh in the table.
Daniel Sturridge claims John Terry was more vocal than Virgil van Dijk
When discussing his two former teammates on Sunday, Sturridge was not interested in picking sides, with the retired striker stating that he loved playing with both men.
However, he did highlight differences between the two, including their behaviour in the dressing room. According to Sturridge, Terry was way more vocal.
Speaking about Terry and Van Dijk on Sky Sports, Sturridge said: “I think JT was very different to Verge. JT was far more vocal in the dressing room. He was the undoubted leader in the dressing room for Chelsea. They obviously had Lamps [Frank Lampard], they had Didier [Drogba], Petr Cech, they had a leadership group of maybe five players, but I think JT was undoubtedly the leader. And very different styles, too.
“JT, I think, played in more of a deeper defensive line and we sat back more as a team in terms of a lower block and potentially I think with Virgil, we played higher up. They’ve got different techniques. I think they’d be an unbelievable partnership. I don’t think it’s like one of the other. I think they would be the perfect pair.
“But I Ioved playing with both of them. They’ve both got unbelievable technique, diagonal passes, JT’s left foot in training, I’ve never seen anyone like diagonal foot left-foot passes. And Verge, it’s so effortless. So I think both of them, obviously legends of the game, two of the best defenders we’ve ever seen.”
Brighton & Hove Albion captain Lewis Dunk has discussed Terry and Van Dijk recently as well, picking the former when asked to choose between the two.
John Terry and Virgil van Dijk’s win percentages compared
Terry and Van Dijk are undoubtedly Premier League icons. Terry has won the title five times, while Van Dijk is about to claim his second.
Both players have very high win percentages in the English top flight, with the Chelsea legend‘s being marginally better. Of course, Van Dijk did spend two-and-a-half seasons at Southampton, who are obviously a significantly weaker team than Liverpool.
| Player | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Win percentage |
| John Terry | 492 | 311 | 107 | 74 | 63.21% |
| Virgil van Dijk | 291 | 183 | 63 | 45 | 62.89% |
It really is too close to call, though Chelsea supporters will point to the number of league titles that their club legend has won.
It is probably a debate that will go on forever, similar to the Lampard and Steven Gerrard one. Whatever the case, in Terry, Chelsea had a terrific leader and an absolutely outstanding defender.
If the club can find a centre-back as half as good as Terry in the transfer market this summer, then their recruitment team would have done well.
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