John Terry may still receive the bulk of the praise when it comes to Chelsea's defensive brilliance- the former England captain has been terrific in fairness- but Gary Cahill is now the better of the two. There are not many centre-backs in Europe who have improved more over the last couple of years than the 28-year-old. He has grown into his role at Stamford Bridge hugely since joining from Bolton Wanderers in 2012, and he is in his prime currently. At 6"4 inches in height, Cahill is dominant in the air, but unlike some tall centre-backs- Per Mertesacker I'm looking at you- he has good mobility and is not often outrun in a foot race. He is good on the ball, particularly when it comes to spraying long passes, and it is clear that he has learned a huge amount from playing alongside Terry. Whether the former Aston Villa man can be deemed world-class is debatable, but he has been arguably the best defender in the Premier League so far this season. He will improve further over the next couple of years too.
