Garth Crooks believes the impact of Thiago Silva and Kurt Zouma on Chelsea is matching the efforts of Marcel Desailly and John Terry.
Silva arrived in the summer from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.
His wealth of experience in European and international football has steadied the Blues back line.
Crooks believes the way Silva is helping Zouma improve his game is similar to how Desailly aided in the development of a young Terry.
"He's done it again. Kurt Zouma loves popping up in the opposition penalty area on set-plays [scored in a win over Leeds at the weekend] and getting on the scoresheet," Crooks wrote in his BBC column.
"I'm not sure who is better at it at the moment, Zouma or his senior partner Thiago Silva.
"There is no doubt in my mind that the arrival of the former Brazil captain has had an enormous effect on the confidence of Zouma in the same way Marcel Desailly had quite a telling impact on John Terry's game during six years together at Stamford Bridge.
"If Zouma turns out to be anything like the defender Terry was for Chelsea then success is only just around the corner."
