English premier league is not an easy place to play football. More so for the non-English. Even more so for the non-Europeans. It’s almost a given that the new foreign players take at least a season to get adjusted to premier league. You have loads of examples of players who struggled at the start and went on to become fantastic premier league players.

When Ramires arrived at Chelsea, we all felt this way. At least I felt this way – Ramires being Brazilian and all that would take his time to settle down in the new league, would get pushed around, would try hard to win a place in our star studded midfield, would be impacted by his lack of English fluency and would be homesick soon.

Watch Ramires today and you wouldn’t know he joined this season. You can’t make out that he could have communication issues. He doesn’t get bullied or pushed around. His ride wasn’t so easy from the start. Yes, he had his settling time but how soon he’s become a fantastic player for us is a testimony to his mental, physical and technical abilites as a football player. Let’s be honest here. He’s settled down sooner than Essien or Mikel.

I was excited to know that Ramires was joining us. I had seen glimpses of him in the confederation cup. He was very impressive with his link-up play and especially his skill and pace. I used to think that he could be a winger forced to play deeper. I also had seen him in the world cup. My respect for Ramires only grew.

When we bought him, I was wondering why we would buy another midfielder and why not a winger. We all thought that our midfield is very strong as it is and that we need some real good players only on the wings. Ramires’purchase, in a way, could have indicated us on what Carlo was trying to do in the long run. Months later, we can vouch that to call Ramires a midfielder is an understatement. He is many things into one. He could be playing in the same position most of the times but he is capable of playing in various roles. More than anything, he is a very intelligent footballer. I must say, it’s a joy to watch Ramires play.

Love his spirit!

You could be saying that I’m judging on him a little too soon. But I call it as I see it. He’s played brilliantly well for us at a time when the whole team was just going through the worst patch in more than a decade. Imagine what contribution Ramires could have made last season if he was part of the 103-goal record making adventure. With what I’ve seen so far, I had already said that he’s the top contender for the Chelsea player of the season award.

Ramires brings a lot to our team. He’s got the spirit that we Chelsea fans would love to see. He’s committed and he wants to win and he doesn’t want to settle for anything less. I love that quality in him. He’s got some frightening pace which he doesn’t use very often. Blended with his ability to dribble and beat men, his pace is a massive weapon. Our midfielders are not pacy – be it Lampard, Essien or Mikel.

Lampard is a classic box-to-box midfielder not because of his pace but because of his ability to read the game and the ability to position himself intelligently. You can say the same about Essien. Mikel operates in a small area so he doesn’t need pace. Basically, none of our midfielders’ game is dependent on pace. This is where Ramires brings in a new dimension. Not that he relies on pace but he’s able to surprise opponents and thereby create opportunities that would not have been otherwise possible.

I must say that I thought he would be similar to one of our midfielders but you know what he is quite different than Lampard, Essien and Mikel. These days Lampard is always double marked. When Lampard is heavily marked if Essien doesn’t get forward enough, that creates a void for us in the attacking midfield and results in not creating enough chances. I think Essien’s still not sure what his position on the pitch is. We’ve not helped him too. He’s played in various roles and positions but we haven’t got the best out of his attacking abilities.

With Ramires in the team, Essien could very well be pushed back in the pitch. That’s not a bad thing though. I think Ramires is better suited for attacking play by virtue of his instincts and abilities. Essien is our best bet on the defensive side of our middle third and that can continue. Definitely, the worst impacted by Ramires’arrival is John Obi Mikel. He’s been outstanding for us but has his ‘off days’ once in a while. To be fair, he’s done an excellent job for us whenever he was called to play.

He can run, run, run, run . . .

I think Mikel must realise that he may not be a usual starter as he used to be. There is competition for places. And this should be true for the Terrys, Lampards and Drogbas too. Remember, Benayoun will be back at some point in time this season. We’re certainly going to play a two striker-four midfielder formation. The players that need to fight for these four places would be Lampard, Essien, Mikel, Ramires, Benayoun, Malouda, Zhirkov, Josh McEachran – what a lovely squad we’ve got!

Every team is built on certain key players in the middle of the pitch. Like Jose Mourinho picked Lampard to be the fulcrum, we need to choose our fulcrum for the next generation. Ramires is stll a young player who can take the mantle from Lampard. Not now, but certainly when the time arrives. Of course, this is not any reflection of Essien and his past, present and future contribution to us. It’s just that I feel that Ramires is better suited to be the fulcrum around which the team functions. I’d consider Lampard and Ramires to have more flair than Essien and I consider this to be an important factor to play that talismanic role. When JM came to Chelsea, Lampard was 26. Ramires is still a young player. Most may not realise that Ramires and Mikel are of the same age.

I hear what you say. He’s hardly played a full season. There’s no guarantee if he could be long-term player. How long before Spanish biggies come calling for him. Spain would be like second home for the Latin Americans for various very valid reasons. We don’t know what he is, injury-wise. We don’t know if he’s enjoying his time at Chelsea. But I have this thing called hope.

I always thought that Essien would spend all his career at Chelsea. Similarly I believe that the core bunch of Chelsea players would never leave Chelsea unless we sell them – Terry, Lampard, Essien, Cech, Drogba – yes, I think so. I’d love to add Ramires to this list. I wish and hope he has a long Chelsea career. I can see that Ramires and Josh will be the future of Chelsea midfield supported by ever-dependable Essien. Carlo wasn’t too far away when he said players like Torres, Ramires and Luiz will be the future of Chelsea. In fact, Torres (forward), Ramires (midfield) and David Luiz (defence) are three strategic signings made with the future in mind. These are the players that are expected to carry Chelsea to the next half decade, at least.

I’m already a big fan of Ramires as I’ve already included him in my special list of current Chelsea players that I’d never want to part with. I hope that he continues his form and truly ends up to be our player of the season!