‘I played with John Terry – there’s one reason he’s much better than Virgil van Dijk’

This former Chelsea midfielder played alongside John Terry and has named who he thinks is the Premier League’s greatest-ever centre-back

Jody Morris overlooked Virgil van Dijk when selecting former team-mates John Terry and Rio Ferdinand as the Premier League’s two greatest-ever centre-backs. The ex-Chelsea midfielder spent seven years at Stamford Bridge from 1996 to 2003 and represented England’s youth teams.

During his spell in west London, he shared the pitch with an emerging Terry in the early 2000s. In his younger days, Morris was also part of the same youth football circles as Manchester United hero Ferdinand and featured alongside him for the Three Lions’ Under-21s.

Morris, who later became a first-team coach at Chelsea under Frank Lampard, was asked to name his all-time greatest Premier League central defenders.

The 47-year-old couldn’t separate one of his contemporaries and Terry, but did highlight a single factor that, in his view, distinguishes the pair from Reds legend Van Dijk.

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“If you’re picking a Premier League best XI, if anyone picks another centre-half over JT and Rio, then they’re not taking it seriously,” said Morris, speaking on In The Mixer brought to you by Sky Bet.

“On Van Dijk, it is [a recency bias]. Van Dijk is an unbelievable player. But if you want to go to the Premier League’s best, JT and Rio have to be your two centre-backs. They just have to.

Singling out one thing that set Terry apart, Morris said: “It’s longevity. I’m not playing down Virgil van Dijk as a player here. But you go, he was at Groningen, then Celtic, then Southampton.

“If you think about those first little six or seven years, JT and Rio are playing in the Premier League. One has won the league five times as captain, the most ever.

“That’s the only thing. You can’t pick [Van Dijk]. I actually think there are other centre-halves that come after them that are still getting in over Virgil. I think you still would have to pick people like Sol Campbell and Tony Adams.”

Reflecting on his time alongside the iconic Blues captain, Morris added: “JT’s underrated as a footballer as well. Like people always think, JT was like, put his body on the line, winner. He was a footballer. He had both feet. He could play centre midfield if he wanted to, same as Rio. JT had both feet, long-distance, short passing. You only realise how good he is if you’re in and around it.

“Like you’d be in the England squad and you’d think he was a much better footballer than people give him credit for. When everyone always speaks about Rio, they go, ‘Ah, ball-playing centre-half.’ And you go, ‘By the way, JT was the exact same.'”

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