Chelsea’s most recent signing, Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Silva, has the quality to address the Blues’ short-term issues in defence.
There were constant themes throughout the 2019/20 season for Chelsea and many of them were positive. The emergence of youth, often exhilarating attacking football and Frank Lampard’s wild celebrations during big games were all things that Blues fans became accustomed to seeing throughout the season. However, the side was also plagued by defensive frailties, a lack of leadership and the total inability to defend set pieces. Chelsea conceded 54 goals in Premier League this season—the same number as Brighton—which is simply not good enough for a team with aspirations of silverware.
So, fans and pundits alike would have expected these issues to be tackled in the summer transfer window. Whilst the transfer window so far has been exceptional in many ways, these glaring issues had yet to be addressed. The signings of Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner and the impending arrival of Kai Havertz have bought an absurd amount of additional firepower to a team that already scored the most goals in the country behind Liverpool and Manchester City. But some fans will have been left worried by the lack of attention that it appeared was being paid to the back line—until now.
The announcement of Ben Chilwell was a much-needed start, although his defensive qualities are very much still up for debate, but the quality of Thiago Silva cannot be questioned. Chelsea’s most recent addition can bring three crucial strengths to this team:
Leadership
The Brazilian veteran was the best centrebacks in the world for a number of years, which is made apparent by his three consecutive years in the UEFA Team of the Year from 2011-13. Despite AC Milan and PSG’s lack of European success in this timeframe, Silva was able to feature. More importantly, he was a leader at both clubs, which is something Chelsea desperately lacks. He has been club captain at his previous two clubs, as well as frequently captaining the national team.
It can be hard to quantify what something like leadership actually means in a football side, but the Blues’ lack of backbone was apparent from their results this season. Once behind, Chelsea only rallied to come back and win twice all season—at Arsenal and Aston Villa. Compare this to Liverpool, the Reds achieved the feat six times, despite barely ever going behind.
How often would a television camera pick up Virgil Van Dijk screaming at his teammates to focus and get back into a match? This is exactly what Chelsea has been missing and Silva can provide this leadership. As well as this, Silva will be shouting at his teammates to switch on during set pieces. It may sound like the bare minimum for a professional footballer, but time and time again, Chelsea players switch off and allow their man to run free on corners. Having an organised leader back there, telling people what to do can only help in this regard.
Furthermore, as he will most likely be playing right centreback, he will be able to immensely help the defensive side of Reece James’ game by constantly telling him exactly where he needs in the defensive phase. Victor Moses once said that having Cesar Azpilicueta playing behind him in Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 aided him defensively as the Spaniard was always telling him exactly where he should be; Silva will have the same impact.
Quality
Beyond the intangible effects Silva can have on the side, there is the very tangible benefit that he is simply a better centreback than anyone Chelsea currently has. Rival fans will point to his age, and at 35 he is clearly no spring chicken, but he just played very competently in a Champions League final. Any suggestion that he is long past it is ludicrous.
His numbers this season at Paris Saint-Germain were still very impressive. His passing statistics are sensational as he ranked second out of defenders in Ligue 1 for passes completed into opposition half yet still achieved the highest passing accuracy of 95 percent. The fact that PSG tried at the last minute to reverse its decision to not extend his contract tells you all you need to know about the quality of his recent performances.
Time
The final benefit that Silva’s signing brings to the team is tied into his age. Rather than being a negative, his age and short contract—a year with the option to extend—should be seen as a positive. In the short term, he brings all the qualities mentioned already, but he also allows the likes of Fikayo Tomori and new signing Malanga Sarr to be loaned out for a year or two.
Chelsea’s other centrebacks, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger, will then have a year or two to improve with the help of Silva. If they can’t, they will be replaced by one—or both—of Tomori and Sarr, once those two have gotten more first team minutes under their belts. The time this signing gives the Blues allows them to raise funds and sign a world-beating centreback in a couple years. The Blues could also have the confidence in their current centrebacks and loanees to help them lead the way in the future.
What do you make of the Silva signing? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!