Manchester United are missing the defensive leadership of Nemanja Vidic, according to Michael Essien.
The Ghanaian midfielder faces Vidic in the Milan derby on Sunday, in an echo of their tussles in the Premier League.
Essien moved from Chelsea to Italy in January, while Serbian defender Vidic left Old Trafford for Inter at the end of the 2014 season.
In the Serbian’s absence, seventh-placed United look brittle and have been forced to use youth players Tyler Blackett and Paddy McNair, as well as Daley Blind, Michael Carrick and Marcos Rojo at centre-back at various stages.
And Essien said: ‘I think he (Vidic) is being missed by United because things are not really going well for them, especially when it comes to their defence.Â
‘He is a top guy and really good defender. He gives everything and puts his body down for every tackle. It will be good to face him in another league. I will be looking forward to it and hopefully we will win.’
Essien, 31, believes Louis Van Gaal will eventually ‘sort it out’ but does not think any team is capable of catching Chelsea, who are winning at a similar rate to his debut season at Stamford Bridge in 2005-06.
When he moved to west London from Lyon in a £24m deal, Chelsea won 10 and drew one of their first 11 games and went on to clinch the title by eight points. Essien believes Jose Mourinho's current crop are just as good.
‘I do keep watching the Premier League. Chelsea are playing really well and are at the top, it will be difficult to overtake them,’ he said.
‘When I went there, we were very strong, and we won a lot of games and the title. I can see this team is as strong as when I first went to Chelsea. They are playing very good football and have very good quality players there.
‘I still keep in contact with Jose. We talk a bit about football and I will tell him that I am watching and they are doing well.’
Essien came into the Premier League the year Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane left, having studied two of the game’s dominant midfielders on television while in France.
On the eve of United facing Arsenal at the Emirates, Essien sounds subdued that we will not see such compelling figures on either side of the divide.
‘The rivalry between Keane and Vieira was quite exciting,’ Essien said. ‘I always watched them. I don’t think we have that anymore.'