Chelsea have a couple of world-class players in their squad right now.

Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo make up that list, and if Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers can maintain the form they have been in this season, you will probably be able to add them to it at some point. Some would also include Reece James, but that is very debatable due to his injuries.

However, Chelsea do have another defender who is on the road to becoming a world-class footballer. And the Blues did not have to pay much to secure his signature.

Jorrel Hato has the technical skill to become a world-class modern-day defender

Last summer, Chelsea paid just £37m to sign Jorrel Hato from Ajax, which is now starting to look like an absolute bargain. The 20-year-old made a slow start to life at Chelsea under former manager Enzo Maresca, but he really impressed in the second half of last season and is making an impact now.

On TalkingPoints, we recently discussed the underrated players in Chelsea’s squad. Hato’s name was mentioned several times, with one user backing him to become a “world-beater” in the not-too-distant future.

Without question, Hato has the potential to become a world-class centre-back in this era of football. To be an elite centre-half now, you have to be good on the ball, and Hato is just that.

Last season, Hato had a pass success rate of 92%, which was one of the highest in Chelsea’s squad, according to WhoScored. This term, it has not been as high, but what Hato has shown under Alonso is that he can carry the ball.

As per FotMob, Hato is completing 1.03 dribbles per 90 minutes and has a 100% dribble success rate. He has been playing as a left wing-back, giving him more opportunities to run with the ball than other central defenders. But if the Dutchman were not capable of doing that, Alonso would not be using him there.

All in all, with his passing and dribbling, Hato has shown that he has enough technical skill to build up play and bring the ball out, which most world-class modern-day centre-halves can do. Of course, the most important thing is whether Hato can defend or not. The answer is he can.

When Hato was playing as a central defender last term, he was really good at getting into the right place and making blocks. It was very John Terry-esque at times.

Hato averaged 0.55 blocked shots per 90 minutes, which gave him a percentile rank of 89.3%. In essence, that means Hato outperformed 89.3% of Premier League players in his position when it came to making blocks. As for tackles, Hato averaged 2.84 per 90 minutes, giving him a percentile rank of 84.5%.

Another thing that Hato has going for him is his versatility. Under Alonso, the Netherlands international has been playing as a left wing-back.

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Hato looks more at home in central defence and will probably finish his career there. While the above is proof that the former Ajax man can defend, in one-v-one situations out wide on the left, attackers have got the better of him in the current campaign.

However, Hato was pretty solid against Everton over the weekend as he helped Chelsea to earn their first Premier League clean sheet since January. Going forward, Hato was also difficult to stop.

In the build-up to Chelsea’s opening goal, Hato flew past Ainsley Maitland-Niles down the left like Gareth Bale in his prime! It is the second time he has done that this season.

During Chelsea’s 4-3 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in August, Hato used his pace to carry the ball from his own half all the way to the edge of the Seagulls’ box before teeing up Joao Pedro. In that left wing-back position, Hato has been a pleasant surprise and is improving after some bumpy moments.

Few footballers can play centre-back, left-back and left wing-back. That makes Hato rare and sets him apart from others, which could contribute to him reaching world-class status in the future.