Brighton manager Chris Hughton has drawn comparisons between defender Lewis Dunk and Aston Villa captain and Chelsea legend John Terry.
Dunk has been arguably Brighton’s best player in the Premier League this season and has so far played in all of their top flight matches this season.
The 26-year-old is a product of the Brighton youth system and has seen the club rise from League One to the Premier League having made his first team debut in 2010.
Hughton believes that Dunk can learn from the long spell which Terry had at Chelsea.
Terry left Chelsea last summer after 19 years as a professional with the club.
When asked if there are similarities between Dunk and Terry, Hughton said: “Yes, I think there are similarities in the way that John Terry was a mainstay in the Chelsea team, Lewis Dunk is the same here.
“There are great examples of John Terry’s game that Lewis can learn from. If he says that [Terry] is the player that he looked up to then I think, in that position, there is almost no one better to do that to.
“I probably have to speak in my time here because what you always want to see in players is the progress they can make. I have been here three years now and I have seen the progress and maturity that he has made.
“He has been the mainstay for us this season. He has been excellent. He will certainly be tested in that game [against Chelsea].
“If it is a team that he has supported then there will certainly be a lot of pressure on him on that day with what they have got offensively. I am sure it is one that he will thoroughly look forward to.”
