Peter Crouch has had to play against some amazing defenders during his time in the Premier League, including some from the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal.
The former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur striker has been speaking about how Arsenal legends Tony Adams and Sol Campbell, for example, gave him really tough tests during his playing days.
Peter Crouch has also faced Chelsea icons in Ricardo Carvalho and John Terry, who were incredible centre-halves in their day.
Right now, the Blues have the likes of Axel Disasi and Levi Colwill, who are obviously not the worst options, playing in central defence.
But sitting in 11th and having conceded 45 goals, how Chelsea could do with two centre-backs like Terry and Carvalho now.
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Peter Crouch names Chelsea defender as toughest ever opponent
Crouch did not enjoy playing against Adams or Campbell.
According to the retired England international, the latter was really strong physically.
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However, he has put Terry right at the top, describing him as the “best of the bunch”.
When asked about his hardest opponent, Crouch told talkSPORT: “I always remember getting schooled by Tony Adams in one of my first games. I was at QPR. It was a cup game, it wasn’t Premier League. I remember Tony Adams and I think it would have been Steve Bould, maybe.
“I thought I was a Premier League player at the age of 18 but I was playing in the Championship and I thought, ‘Yeah, I’m scoring goals at this level, I’ll make Premier League level no worries.’ Then I came up against Tony Adams and that view changed very quickly. What a defender he was.
“I think over the years, Sol Campbell gave me a big test because he is so physically strong. But John Terry was probably the best of the bunch, I think.”
Who has been Chelsea’s best central defender this season?
As mentioned earlier, Disasi and Colwill are not bad centre-backs and you can definitely say the same thing about Thiago Silva.
Disasi, though, has probably been the Blues’ leading central defender in the current campaign.
He is out in front when it comes to aerial duels won per league game, for example, averaging 2.5 (WhoScored).
Jamie Carragher was really impressed with his performance against Manchester City in February, describing him as a “magnet”.
Like Terry, hopefully he can be a tough opponent for Premier League strikers for many years.
