Chelsea greenlight their best player’s exit, as Pochettino looks at four stars to fill the void
Chelsea are ‘happy’ to let their reigning player of the year leave the club, and rather than sign a replacement, Mauricio Pochettino will put his faith in four players already with the Blues, per a report.
Chelsea are in the early stages of a long-term project having deployed a transfer strategy that focuses on the future rather than the present.
The vast bulk of Chelsea’s signings in the Todd Boehly era have been aged 25 or under. A sizeable chunk are teenagers who won’t be expected to make an impact at Stamford Bridge until later this decade.
A handful of veteran players are still dotted around the club, and no outfield player in the Premier League boasts more experience than Thiago Silva.
The Brazilian may be 39, though is still an elite-level performer week in week out at Stamford Bridge. Indeed, the fact Silva was named both Chelsea player of the year and Chelsea players’ player of the year last season is proof of that.
The centre-half has played the full 90 minutes in all of Chelsea’s league matches so far this season. However, despite his importance to the club, Football Insider claim he’ll be let go when the campaign concludes.
Chelsea won’t offer contract extension – report
Silva’s current contract expires in June and per the report, a contract extension won’t be offered.
Silva has done nothing wrong per se, though it’s claimed club chiefs feel the time is right to put their faith in younger options.
Rather than sign a direct replacement, FI state Chelsea and Pochettino will instead turn to Wesley Fofana, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile and Levi Colwill to pick up the slack.
The notable omission there – aside from Silva of course – is Trevoh Chalobah. According to Fabrizo Romano, Chalobah “WILL leave in January.”
Our newest transfer insider, Dean Jones, exclusively revealed Bayern Munich are the frontrunners for his signature ahead of Tottenham, West Ham, Fulham and Roma.
Regarding Silva – who FI state is now expected to leave Chelsea on three occasions in their report – a return to Brazil with Fluminense could await.
Silva was on Fluminense’s books as a teenager and has long been linked with ending his career there. Silva also played for the club in 2006 while on loan from Dynamo Moscow and during a permanent stint between 2007-09.
As a potential free agent, a move would appear to be financially viable for the Brazilian outfit who will compete in the Copa Libertadores final on November 4. Fluminense will square off against Argentine giant Boca Juniors.
