Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma reveals his admiration for John Terry and how advice from Didier Drogba helped him make amends with Diego Costa

Drogba’s words of comfort will ease his introspection but it is another Chelsea icon Zouma is expected to follow. The centre-back has been anointed as John Terry’s natural successor given his physical prowess, positional intelligence and huge potential.

Terry, of course, is still fighting to prove he is not yesterday’s man but there is no rivalry between the pair. In fact, Zouma’s admiration for the Chelsea skipper is deep rooted.

“When I was young, I used to learn on the Playstation as a beginner and always play as Chelsea,” he said.

“I used to play as John Terry! It is strange to have watched John on the TV and now be playing and training with him.

“John speaks to me a lot. When I came here for the first time, before my first game, he spoke to me and said, ‘English football is not the same as in France. You need to be ready. It is more physical, you have to read situations because the strikers go in behind you more. When a striker drops back you have to follow.’ On the pitch, he speaks to me a lot as does Gary Cahill.

“For me, John is a legend and he will always be that. I have a chance to play some games and improve a lot. There is no pressure for me to replace him but if I play, I have to show what I can give for the team. I want to show that Chelsea is where I want to be. I like the club and the people in it. I want to be one of the legends of the club but there is still a long way to go.”

Zouma exudes a humility and maturity beyond his years, settled as a happy family man with wife Sandra and their two children: baby girl Sihame, who is just a few weeks old, and their two-year old son, Kais. Despite consistently denigrating his level of English, he speaks well and wants to be a player who voices his opinion despite the negativity this week has brought.

Chelsea bought Zouma for £12million from Saint Etienne in January last year but immediately loaned him back to the French club and it was during this six-month period he began intensively improving his English.

Although he has since stopped to spend more time with his family, Zouma is fully aware of the embryonic nature of his career.

“I had some experience in the French league for three years, now in Chelsea it is my second year and the feeling is amazing,” he said. “I feel I have come such a long way but I am still young so I have to learn a lot.

“And I still play the Playstation now. In my mind I am still a young kid — I like to play with my son. So my career just starts now. I am very excited to see what will be next.”

The immediate task for Chelsea is to recover from a slow start to mount a more robust defence of their title. Three successive wins in different competitions have created a sense of momentum Zouma hopes will carry them past Newcastle in tomorrow’s evening’s clash at St James’ Park.

“I think the problem at the start was mental because physically we were ready,” he said. “We know when you are champions, the next season is always difficult.

“We thought ‘we are going to win, no problem — let’s just play football’. We weren’t determined enough to show we could defend our title.

“We are always motivated but when you are champions it is hard mentally not to think ‘Okay, we will win this game’. Now, we showed that we want to defend the title.

“The performance against Arsenal is the start and we will do better. I hope that game starts us on a winning run that gets us back to the top.”

If that is the lasting legacy of Chelsea’s clash with Arsenal, Zouma and Co will be perfectly happy.