After eight seasons in the French capital, Thiago Silva is set to leave PSG when his contract expires this summer.
The Brazilian and his teammates reached the final of this year’s Champions League in Lisbon where they will face an in-form Bayern team. Sunday’s final is expected to be Silva’s last game for the French side after which he could make a move to Chelsea.
Frank Lampard is keen on shoring up a defence that conceded 54 Premier League goals last season so it’s no surprise to see his team linked with a host of names. Declan Rice and Lewis Dunk are possible options although a deal for the latter looks unlikely now that he has signed a new deal that will further keep him at the Amex stadium.
As reported by The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano, the Brazilian’s representatives have held talks with Chelsea over a potential move. However, Chelsea are not without competition for the PSG captain as Fiorentina also look to bring the veteran defender to Italy.
Thiago Silva has been offered to Chelsea by his agent days ago. Chelsea are seriously considering him as an option but Thiago wants some days more to decide his next club. He’s focused on the final then he’ll choose. Also Fiorentina and 3 more clubs contacted him. 🔵 #CFC #Thiago
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 21, 2020
How would Thiago Silva fit in at Chelsea?
Most of Chelsea’s defensive problems last season emanated from a lack of leadership and coordination at the back. Signing Thiago Silva would solve this issue as the ex-Milan man has marshalled defences for both club and country in recent years.
A major feature of any solid defence is usually the presence of a leader as seen with Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool and John Terry during his time at Stamford Bridge.
Silva is also an excellent passer of the ball as his 68 accurate passes at 95% accuracy in the Ligue 1 suggests. Lampard clearly likes his teams to play out from the back and Silva would help tremendously in that department.
On the rare occasions that he has to go the long route, he is also very efficient completing 3.2 long balls per game with an accuracy of 76%.
At 35 years old, he definitely won’t be a long-term fix to the Blues’ defensive deficiencies but he will serve as an astute temporary fix. It will be interesting to see if Chelsea’s contract policy for players above the age of 30 gets in the way of the deal.
