Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva has hinted at the possibility of leaving the Stamford Bridge club at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
The Brazilian is out of contract at the end of the season, and while he has been a regular under manager Mauricio Pochettino this term, Chelsea are unlikely to hand him another extension.
Silva will be 40 in September, and although he has shown no signs of slowing down, a summer departure is expected and the Blues are already preparing for life without him.
The former Paris Saint-Germain star played all 90 minutes in the 6-1 demolition of Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge last night to help Chelsea book a spot in the final of the Carabao Cup at Wembley next month, and he revealed he could be nearing the end of his Chelsea career.
“With each game, I have the feeling it is ending,” he told Hayters TV after the game.
“Which is sad.”
Thiago Silva hints at the end of his @ChelseaFC career 😢🇧🇷#Chelsea pic.twitter.com/lRUu5nCqN0
— Hayters TV (@HaytersTV) January 24, 2024
Silva has played 24 games across all competitions this term, starting 22 of them, and he still looks capable of playing for one or two more seasons at the top level.
He has played 141 games since joining Chelsea from PSG in the summer of 2020 and could now be on his way at the end of the term.
The Blues are looking to bolster their central defensive ranks, and while Levi Colwill has stepped up with Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile and Trevoh Chalobah currently injured, the position is one the club are expected to strengthen in the summer.
Chelsea are keeping tabs on Athletic Bilbao centre-back Aitor Paredes, and his Benfica counterpart Antonio Silva is also on their radar, but more transfer targets are expected to emerge ahead of the summer transfer window.
The Blues have Financial Fair Play concerns given how they have splashed the cash since having new owners, and they will be wary with the type of deals they seal in the coming months so as not to get punished by the Premier League for breaking the Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
