A thread on Thiago Silva – his attributes, how he compares to Chelsea’s other centre backs and what fans can expect from him next season.

Chelsea’s main issues (from a defensive perspective) have been the goalkeeper and the lack of a commanding defender in the box. Thiago Silva rectifies the latter immediately.

In terms of blocking goal-bound efforts, you won’t find many better than Silva.

Chelsea are blessed with defenders who are fast across the ground and can beat opponent attackers for pace. While Thiago Silva isn’t as fast as Zouma or Rudiger, he can certainly hold his own on the ground.

His legs haven’t fully gone yet and he can complement Zouma very well.

Chelsea have reasonably good ball progressors in defence. The current centre-backs can get the ball moving at above-average levels, either by carrying or passing it.

Thiago Silva, however, isn’t a reasonably good ball progressor. He is an absolutely elite one.

This is not to say Thiago Silva doesn’t have weaknesses. Lampard has been crying out for some height and aerial presence from our centre-backs and Silva is unlikely to solve those issues.

He isn't very tall by CB standards and based on current evidence, he is not great aerially.

Based on performances, Silva is still pretty good. However, the Premier League is a different beast to other leagues in terms of intensity and physical workload.

Hopefully, he manages to bridge the gap like top players do. But age isn’t on his side and fans need to be cautious.

As a positive sign, Silva is not playing in the most physically demanding position on the pitch. However, he will still be asked to defend large spaces and hopefully, he is still up to the task in the Premier League.

It will be interesting to see how Lampard manages his game-time too.

The time Silva has spent on the pitch (in league play) has gradually decreased from 2015-16 to 2019-20. Silva has not played more than 70% of PSG’s league minutes since 2016-17.

His effect is likely to be felt off the pitch too. Silva has a reputation for being a leader wherever he has been.

Players of his leadership credentials and experience aren’t available often. Our young players will no doubt be better off after rubbing shoulders with him.

Pedro Geromel (Silva's teammate for Brazil):

I can tell you that Silva is a very intelligent person. He was always talking to me, giving me instructions in training, but he is also modest enough to listen to advice. He pushes himself to the limit and always wants to improve.

Signing Silva was a no-brainer move considering his pedigree, his performances on the big stage and his skillset. On paper, his positives far outweigh his negatives. Let’s hope his legs can sustain a season or two of PL football.

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