It will soon be time to consider who should be Chelsea player of the season, though we are still nine weeks from the final match.

The Blues’ 1-1 draw against a lively Southampton side on Sunday provided a few more pointers, as well as extending Chelsea’s Premier League lead to six points thanks to the previous day’s heroics of Burnley against champions Manchester City.

As Jose Mourinho leads his men to Hull on Sunday, after giving the squad another two-day rest, there is one clear contender for the club crown in what has been a truly impressive season.

After all, despite being knocked out of the Champions League, Chelsea were undefeated in all European games. They won the League Cup, and have been on top of the table from day one, consistently playing dazzling football… provided we forget about the FA Cup defeat to Bradford.

Eden Hazard has consistently bamboozled defences, and has to be a contender.

Cesc Fabregas made a brilliant start, and has been a master of assists, even if his early form has fallen away.

Nemanja Matic was also in the reckoning, though recently his rock-like dependability has softened.

Branislav Ivanovic has reinvented himself as an all-rounder; maintaining his key role in defence while improving his value as an unexpected extra goalscorer .

And Diego Costa, on target again against the Saints with a lovely looped header, leads the Premier League scorers’ table and is one of the principal reasons why the Blues have proved so hard to smother.

Willian has improved in 2014-15, and Kurt Zouma has been an outstanding newcomer. But the man who deserves the player of the year tag is captain John Terry; ever-present in the league, and a courageous and utterly consistent captain and central defender.

If JT continues to excel against Hull, Stoke, QPR, United and the rest, he will be dancing on the open-top bus in May as player of the year.