DESPITE failing to convert a couple of chances that would have claimed a draw with Chelsea, Kenwyne Jones was last night described as the striker to watch in the Premier League by England's John Terry.

After edging ahead of Jones to nod the Blues in front at the Stadium of Light, Terry spent the rest of the encounter doubling up with Brazilian Alex in an attempt to keep the threat of Sunderland's £6m man at bay.

By and large the Chelsea pair succeeded, but it was the towering Trinidad & Tobago striker that worked his way free of his markers twice in the final quarter of an hour.

On both occasions, however, Jones failed to seriously test Chelsea keeper Carlo Cudicini as his goalscoring drought extended to ten matches.

Terry, though, believes that manager Roy Keane's gamble to invest heavily on the former Southampton man last August was a masterstroke.

And the Chelsea captain believes Keane will have to pull off another major coup in the summer - this time by retaining the services of a player attracting plenty attention.

"Jones was fantastic against us and I have played against him twice now," said Terry. "He is a very good player, very hard working and probably the best in the air in the entire Premier League. He really is that good.

"All the lads were talking about him afterwards in the dressing room, saying how well he did and how impressive he was. If Sunderland can stay up and keep hold of him they have a fantastic chance of kicking on."

Earlier in the season Jones was hailed as the best striker in the league by Keane, who then went on to suggest his summer acquisition was worth a staggering £40m in the current climate.

Given his lack of goals recently, his value is likely to have dropped. His barren spell runs beyond his last goal in the win over Bolton on December 29, as that is the only time he has found the net since late October.

But, despite his lack of goals, there is a belief in the Sunderland dressing that they have a player who is integral to Keane's long term plan for the club.

Nyron Nosworthy said: "Kenwyne is massive for us at the moment, every one is wary of him and everyone knows what he is capable of doing. As long as we have him we will do well.

"May be we missed too many good chances. That is the difference between teams like us and Chelsea. They take their chances, we need to be more clinical."

During Terry's tribute to Jones, he also went on to suggest that Sunderland will escape the threat of relegation, having been impressed by the performance of Keane's men.

And Nosworthy said: "It is nice John Terry says we will be fine, it shows clubs are showing respect for us, which is what we are trying to do but obviously a defeat is a defeat. We have to maintain that standard, it is no good saying we played well, got credit but got nothing.

"The performance gives everyone a lift even though we have lost. I think that is the way we need to play in our last eight games. We need to be positive and brave."

At the other end of the table, Chelsea are serious title contenders again. After last week's humiliating FA Cup exit at Barnsley, the Blues have chalked up six points and seven goals in two games.

Three points separate Chelsea from leaders Manchester United, with forthcoming matches against Tottenham and Arsenal likely to shape the rest of their domestic season.

"We are right in the mix. In a great position," said captain Terry, after Chelsea extended their unbeaten league run to 11 matches. "A few months ago we were 13 points behind. We are quietly coming up the rails and playing very well.

"There have not been too many games recently where we have been hanging on, like we were at Sunderland. But it was like that two seasons ago when we got a 1-0 victory. When we first won the title we had a lot of games like that."

Terry's tenth minute header was his first goal for Chelsea since the opening day of last term, a 51 match drought.

"That goal has been a long time in coming," he said. "It's my first league goal of the season, I'm just delighted to get us the three points. That's the main thinking, but on a personal level it's good to get off the mark."

Joe Cole could face a Football Association rap with pictures appearing to indicate the Chelsea player guilty of spitting in the face of Dean Whitehead.