Rio Ferdinand is one of the top Premier League pundits around, and it seems like he’s been seriously impressed by Chelsea’s progress since Thomas Tuchel took over.

However, the former Manchester United defender is full of praises for Chelsea players as he described the Blues central defender, Antonio Rudiger as an ‘animal’ who has become one of the best in the Premier League.

Ferdinand pointed out that Chelsea boss, Thomas Tuchel has changed Rudiger into a perfect player.

The former England star said this while praising the impact Tuchel has made so far in his short reign at Chelsea.

He noted that sacked Frank Lampard will be watching the success of his successor and question his inability to get the best out of certain players during his reign.

Rudiger found himself out in the cold under Lampard but has been reinvigorated under Tuchel, becoming a rock at the heart of the Chelsea defence.

Frank’s respectful and I think he’s honest enough to know and would say Tuchel has done an amazing job,” Ferdinand told FIVE.

“But at the same time I’m sure Frank’s sitting there thinking, ‘well I didn’t see these certain players performing like this when I was there.

“But then it’s about Frank looking at himself, looking at his tenure there, did he approach things the right way. I’m sure he’s doing all this, he’s looking at, ‘Could I have handled this situation better, could I have handled that player better?’

“That’s what Frank will be going through and he’ll be looking to make sure he right the wrongs from his time at Chelsea.

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“But you can’t do anything but respect and pay homage to what Tuchel has done.

“Look at Rudiger, he’s arguably, since Tuchel has been there [at Chelsea], been the best defender in the Premier League. Him or [Ruben] Dias in that time. He’s been unbelievable, he’s like an animal.

“Tuchel is getting a different type of change out of some players,”

He added: “Jorginho has gone to a new level. Mount is doing exactly what he was doing under Frank.”


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