Sheffield United man receives ultimate John Terry compliment amid Chelsea future plan

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John Terry hails Sheffield United loan star amid Chelsea future hope

There can be no finer comparison, for a young man who grew up in the fabled Chelsea youth academy, than to the club’s finest defender of the modern-day era. John Terry won trophoes galore during his time at Stamford Bridge and as an academy consultant, keeps a keen eye on the next generation.

So the former Blues and England skipper will be delighted to see the progress of Alfie Gilchrist this season in his first spell away from London, on loan at Sheffield United. The 20-year-old has impressed Unitedites with his attitude and application at right-back as the Blades climbed to joint top of the Championship table going into the international break, as they look to bounce back to the Premier League at the first attempt.

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And comparisons with Terry will come as no surprise to Blades fans who have witnessed first-hand Gilchrist’s sheer love of defending. “Literally from the first training session in which I saw him, he reminded me of myself,” Terry told Mail+. “He was keen to learn, asking me questions about defending and constantly picking my brains over what I would do in different situations.

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“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.

“Even when I was having conversations with Alfie, he’d just broken into the Under 21s, which was great, but he had targets he wanted to hit – clean sheet target, goal target, and he wanted to make his debut for the first team. He said: ‘I’m looking for my next steps, JT. After that, I really want to get out on loan.’ That was music to my ears. Alfie was very keen to get out and into a dressing room with grown men.”

That determination impressed United chief Chris Wilder - a vocal critic in the past of what he calls “toilet bag footballers” who are content to stay in their comfort zones and not get their hands dirty in a first-team environment elsewhere - with Gilchrist buying completely into life at Bramall Lane, rather than simply playing out a season and eyeing a return to his parent club.

By his own admission Gilchrist is “progressing with every game” and is happy at the Lane, keeping an open mind about the future amid the target of promotion for United. Playing at right-back in the Championship will also further develop him, with the attacking side of his game visibly improving. Going the other way, there are no concerns whatsoever.

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“I see him as a centre back but he looks very comfortable at right back playing in the Championship,” Terry added. “Even at times for the Under 21s, he stepped into midfield and played that holding role. Being very comfortable on the ball is the way in modern-day football and he’s got that. That’s going to serve him well moving forward and the higher he goes in the game.

“Hopefully, he comes back to Chelsea and breaks through into our team. 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. Alfie and all of his family are Chelsea, too, so I know deep down he wants to come back and break through.”

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