Tottenham star Harry Kane snubbed Virgil van Dijk and Ruben Dias when asked to name the best defender he has faced in his career.
Kane, 29, has taken on some of the best defenders in world football on the club stage with Tottenham but more so on the international platform with England and Gareth Southgate. The whole debate of who is the best defender ever in football always consists of a mix of past central defenders and current ones. In the modern mix, Van Dijk and Dias are in that category of certainly best in the world and arguably best ever.
However, Tottenham's number 9 has selected a past Premier League icon and Chelsea man more importantly as the best defensive opponent he faced off against in the early parts of his Lilywhites career. In an Instagram Q&A, the 29-year-old was asked for the defenders who have presented the hardest challenges to him over his career.
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"I think early on in my career facing John Terry," Kane said on Instagram. "Just a really smart defender, knew where to put his body, knew how to stop my runs. So that was a great learning curve.
"Then [Giorgio] Chiellini, obviously played against him against Italy and Juventus. Same thing, really smart, strong, physical. So them two stand out."
Looking forward to the future, new signing Kalidou Koulibaly has taken Terry's iconic number 26 jersey, so perhaps he could enter the mix in the greatest debate. Maybe this time next year if Kane was to be asked the same question, the Senegalese could come into the equation.
Chelsea fans - are you confident that Kalidou Koulibaly can establish himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League at 31-years of age? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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