John Terry Names The 'Incredible' Wasted Talent At Chelsea Who Could've Been A Club Legend
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John Terry has revealed Rob Wollaston is the greatest talent he worked with at Chelsea who failed to live up to his potential.
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Terry played with some of the Premier League's all-time greats during his time at Stamford Bridge but Wollaston is unknown to many fans.
The midfielder had a chance to break into the first team under Ruud Gullit in the late 90's, but Terry explained he struggled to bridge the gap between the academy and first team.
When asked about players who never fulfilled their potential at The Blues, Terry replied: "Probably a boy called Rob Woollaston at Chelsea.
"He was like a midfielder/winger, had so much ability. I still know Rob now, but mentally didn't have that to go and push himself."
The 41-year-old goes on to explain the key incident which made him realise Wollaston may not make it at Stamford Bridge.
"He got chose to train with the first team at a really young age, 17 or 18, did really well and Gullit told him he was going to play in the first team in a cup game.
"He then phoned up on the day of the game and said he was sick.
"All of us, if we were sick or felt like we were at the end of the world, we would have still gone and played the game, we wouldn't have given up that opportunity.
"He actually done it two or three times and he was just not mentally ready for the game, but ability-wise, incredible."
Terry spent 19 years at Chelsea and won a slew of trophies, under a number of different managers.
He was most recently assistant coach at Aston Villa, his final club before retirement in 2018.
Terry appeared on beIN Sports last month and discussed what it's like working with the modern player.
He sat down with Richard Keys and Andy Gray to discuss changes from when he was a player to now.
It's a fascinating listen and Terry, who was a no-nonsense defender, believes he learnt a lot from one specific incident.
Terry had dug a player out for his lack of effort in training and manager Dean Smith asked if he'd spoken about his private life.
"It didn't even enter my head at all," he admitted. "The next morning I text him and told him to get in early and we'll have a bit of breakfast.
Fascinating insight from John Terry.
The @ChelseaFC legend openly discusses his learning curve from player to Assistant coach at Aston Villa and highlights Dean Smith's influence. #beINPL #AVFC #CFC pic.twitter.com/sHhJnRc5qs
- beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) November 22, 2021
"It was during COVID, his family were away - he hadn't seen his mum and dad and he'd just had a baby.
"I just learnt so much under Dean for those little bits. We ended up giving him a day off so he could spend time with his family.
"After that he came back and he was a new player, fighting back to get into the team and again, it's man-management."
Featured Image Credit: PA Images
Topics: John Terry, Chelsea, Football, Premier League
