Antonio Rudiger is Chelsea's best defender.
That is the view of BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks, who has heaped praise on the Germany international when explaining his Premier League team of the season picks.
Rudiger has joined Manchester United captain Harry Maguire and FWA footballer of the year Ruben Dias in the former Tottenham forward's rather surprising back three.
Despite the fact Rudiger only became a regular in the Chelsea side following the appointment of Thomas Tuchel as head coach in January, Crooks believes the Blues' defensive improvement has coincided with the 28-year-old's recall after falling out of favour under Frank Lampard.
"His game might not be pretty, but it's extremely effective," Crooks explained. "Rudiger played in the FA Cup final and has seen Chelsea into the Champions League final as part of a team he didn't feature in at the start of the season.
"The Germany international had fallen out of favour with previous manager Frank Lampard, and Chelsea's defensive performances suffered as a consequence.
"Since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea and Rudiger haven't looked back.
"A record number of consecutive clean sheets for the Blues not only exposed Lampard's inexperience but highlighted Tuchel's astuteness.
"Rudiger is the best defender in the club and a fearsome competitor."
An interesting statistic that somewhat backs up Crooks' claim is the fact that Chelsea won 58% of their Premier League games when Rudiger played (11 of 19), compared to 42% when he was absent (eight of 19).
With that said, naming Rudiger as Chelsea's 'best defender' may come as a surprise to many.
That tag has often been reserved for Thiago Silva who has impressed since arriving on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
