Chelsea have the chance to build a new "core" reminiscent of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba, says Pat Nevin.
The Premier League champions beat Manchester United 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday to head into the international break on a high following a difficult start to the 2017-18 season.
£58million summer signing Alvaro Morata headed the winner at the Bridge to take his tally to seven League goals this season, while 21-year-old Andreas Christensen excelled in defence after Conte dropped regular starter David Luiz.
N'Golo Kante also returned from a hamstring injury layoff to control midfield despite lacking match fitness, with the French international hoping to make it three consecutive League titles.
Former Chelsea winger Nevin suggests that while Terry, Lampard and Drogba - who have 12 Premier League title medals between them, along with every club trophy available to Chelsea - stand apart as legends of the club, Christensen, Kante and Morata have time on their side to lead the Blues to more glory.
Of Morata's display against United, Nevin wrote for Chelsea's website: "Three United centre-backs working together couldn’t get close to dealing with him. The skill, the power, the pace and the vision were from somewhere well above the very top drawer.
"After his recent missed chances and his substitutions, it could be something as simple as having full match-fitness again at last and total belief that the injury to his hamstring was not about to suddenly resurrect its ugly head.
"If you look at the core of the team it was all rather exceptional. N’Golo Kante obviously made a huge difference with no perceptible change in his levels of fitness, tackling quality or general ability after a month long lay-off.
"It adds to the theory he may in fact not be altogether built like the rest of us human beings.
"The other part of that core which must be applauded right away is of course Andreas Christensen. A more assured confident and mature performance you will rarely see from a 21-year-old defender.
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"He has played well when given his opportunities already this season but this was a level above and it makes it hard to imagine Antonio Conte leaving him out any time soon if he plays to anything like that level.
"At Stamford Bridge we know the importance of a good core to a team; Terry, Lampard and Drogba were not too bad for that, were they?
"It is not a case of comparing those three at the weekend with the aforementioned club legends; that would be grossly unfair, but in that Alvaro is 25, N’Golo is 26, both coming into their primes, and Andreas at 21 has over a decade at the top in front of him, there is the possibility this could be the start of something special and something very long-term as well."