Chelsea defenders Ben Chilwell and Kurt Zouma have paid tribute to Blues summer signing Thiago Silva and say their new team-mate has ‘everything’.
Brazil legend Silva signed a one-year contract at Stamford Bridge in August after leaving PSG following their Champions League final defeat to Bayern Munich at the end of last season.
Silva endured a difficult start to his Premier League career, making an uncharacteristic mistake in a 3-3 draw with West Brom, but looked more assured as Chelsea thrashed Crystal Palace 4-0 before the international break.
Chilwell and Zouma are both delighted to be sharing a dressing room with Silva and believe he is a superb role model for his Chelsea team-mates.
England defender Chilwell, who joined Chelsea from Leicester City over the summer, said: ‘Ever since he came in the building, when he is in the room he has a presence about him.
‘He makes everyone want to do well and standards will never slip, which they shouldn’t anyway.
‘He demands quality and assures the whole team around him so it is great to have him in there with us, and he talks throughout the whole game.’
Zouma, meanwhile, said: ‘You can see straightaway, as soon as he walked through the door at Cobham, he gives advice to the players around him, he’s really good with people and you can definitely see he has very good leadership skills.
‘Everyone has welcomed Thiago into the group and we are all happy he’s with us at Chelsea.’
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The French defender added: ‘I’m very excited to work with Thiago, but I don’t think I’m the only one, a lot of the guys here at Chelsea feel exactly the same.
‘We are all excited to play with him and to learn from him. He’s got great experience at the highest level, he’s won a lot of titles and last season he played in the Champions League final.
‘For me, he’s got everything. He’s calm on the ball, he can defend very well, his positioning is great. I’m very happy he’s here and excited to learn from him.’
