'His understanding' - Rosenior praises Chelsea star who 'makes players around him better'
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Liam Rosenior has likened young Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos to Brazilian legend Dunga for the way he improves the players around him on the pitch.
Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez remain the first-choice midfield pairing at Chelsea, but Andrey Santos' presence has been a blessing to the team.
Not only that the 21-year-old is capable of providing cover for various midfield positions, his workrate and especially defensive prowess have proved crucial when Chelsea had to deal with Caicedo's suspensions.
Blues head coach Rosenior is clearly a big fan of the former Vasco da Gama star, whom he believes has similar attributes to one of the best defensive midfielders of all time, Dunga.
"Andrey - I was very fortunate to work with him at Strasbourg last year," the Chelsea head coach told TNT Sports when speaking about the Brazilian midfielder.
"What Andrey does in the game... his understanding of football for his age is incredible.
"Like I said, he reminds me of Dunga.
"Dunga was incredible at making players around him better. That's what Andrey does for his teammates, even though he's so young.
"I think, as well as Estevao and Joao Pedro, he can go on to have an incredible career."
Rosenior also shared his thoughts on Joao Pedro's characteristics as an attacker.
"He's a good player. That's what Joao is," he responded when asked whether he sees the striker as a true number nine or a number 10.
"He's a player who can contribute goals wherever he's playing, from a nine or a ten.
"I like him as a nine. I like the way he plays; he can link the game, run in behind.
"Obviously, you saw the goal he scored at the weekend (vs Brentford) - a fantastic finish."
Rosenior may prefer to use Joao Pedro as a number nine, but the striker will likely play in the deeper number 10 role quite a lot for the remainder of the season.
The departure of Facundo Buonanotte earlier this month has left Chelsea with limited number 10 options, with Joao Pedro being one of them alongside Cole Palmer.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.