Thiago Silva will need an oxygen mask in order to improve Chelsea’s defensive issues this season, according to Craig Burley.
The Brazil international has made the move to Stamford Bridge this summer, joining on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain.
The 35-year-old has been brought in to add experience to Chelsea’s defence, which conceded 54 goals in the Premier League last season.
And Burley believes Thiago Silva will struggle to make an impact this term due to Chelsea’s lack of defensively minded players.
‘Thiago Silva is going to need an oxygen mask because there is only N’Golo Kante in there who has got any defensive qualities,’ Burley told ESPN FC.
‘That’s going to be the difficulty for Lampard, striking the balance.
‘Mason Mount, who really flourished in his first season in the Premier League, is an attacking player, Kai Havertz played a lot of the season at Leverkusen as a striker, and then you add the front three [Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic] in and it’s ‘over to you N’Golo Kante’ because nobody else is going to be defending.
‘Striking a balance with [Mateo] Kovacic or somebody else in there is going to be key.
‘Chelsea are going to be great to watch, you just don’t know which way.’
