Antonio Rudiger is starting to show why Chelsea signed him

At the most important part of the season, Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger is starting to show the form his potential has always suggested was possible.

When Antonio Rudiger first arrived at Chelsea he looked like an unbelievably athletic and incredibly poor defender. He was constantly out of place, his marking was poor and he fouled continually. He only made up for most of that because he had the athleticism to do so. Many Chelsea supporters could be forgiven for being incredibly worried that this was their £30 million plus defensive signing during the summer.

The match against Swansea was different though.

All of the usual athleticism was present but so was a higher level of intelligence. Finally Rudiger was using his immense physicality and athleticism to compliment the mental side of his play, not to merely make up for it.

He controlled the right hand side of the pitch like few defenders really do. He even had one phenomenal run all the way into the opposite team’s half of the pitch which was so well timed that his colleague weren’t exposed.

It is not that a defender can’t do such things, they just need to be smart about when they do them. Rudiger was phenomenal against Swansea and it was duly fitting that he capped off his performance with a strong headed goal.

If Rudiger is able to put it all together as a defender, he can be a force to be reckoned with. His height, physicality, coordination, speed and athleticism gives him a natural edge. With a well-drilled and intelligent mental game he will be a top defender in the Premier League, if not the world. With Antonio Conte perhaps being best at coaching defenders Rudiger has the chance to really grow and fulfill his potential.

Until the match against Swansea there was little evidence to suggest he was going to do that. He needs to impress at least ten more times this season (and then for a full year after that) before we can accept that he has reached the next level. One good season is as useless as a single good performance after all.

Next: Conte, Cahill, Sanches and Moses with notable moments in dry win

However, this was a glimpse as to exactly how good Rudiger can be. At his age, Chelsea should be very excited about the defender’s prospects for a long career in West London.