Marcel Desailly – captain of both France and Chelsea – is backing William Gallas to become his central defensive partner for France as well as for The Blues.
Gallas joined Chelsea in the summer of 2001 but of all the signings made under Claudio Ranieri, he was perhaps the least well known.
It is William however, whilst forming a rock alongside Desailly at the heart of the Chelsea defence, that has arguably, made the biggest impression so far. 
Desailly said, “I was happy to hear both our manager and Bobby Robson compliment the centre of Chelsea's defence after our match with Newcastle last week,” said Desailly. “I am happy for William.
“Last year, he showed us he could play in a big club and now he is showing he can play at that high level all the time. With that continuity, he will have the opportunity to play for France.
“I have a good association with him. He is able to listen to what I'm telling him, but unlike some people who do exactly what you tell them, he's doing more.
“He's putting his own stamp on the work and that's the sign of quality.”
With Chelsea as of yet unbeaten in the Premiership, Desailly hopes that the team will continue this run against local rivals Fulham tonight and bounce back from a disappointing 2-1 victory over Viking FK in the UEFA Cup 1st round leg last week.
In his matchday programme notes, Desailly said of his team’s league form: “We have to continue to surf on this positive wave. This season people haven't set us a specific objective and maybe this is making us more relaxed. We don't feel we have anything to lose.
“We just have to prove each game that we can give a show of quality and then that we can win that game.
“At the moment it feels a pleasure to play and we can use this experience in the future if we have some problems.”
stevefurlong@chelsea-mad.co.uk