Chelsea and Tottenham will reportedly battle for Jonathan Tah in the summer (Image: Getty)
Chelsea can repeat their successful free transfer signing of Thiago Silva by beating Tottenham to Jonathan Tah in the summer. Then-Blues boss Frank Lampard secured a coup when he persuaded Brazilian veteran Silva to move to Stamford Bridge as a free agent in 2020.
Silva will likely leave Chelsea when his contract expires in the summer. The 39-year-old has struggled to fit into Mauricio Pochettino’s plans in recent weeks, with the Blues head coach looking to the future.
Chelsea will therefore need to sign a replacement for Silva and have been linked with Bayer Leverkusen star Tah. German newspaper Bild say that Chelsea will compete with London rivals Spurs for the 28-year-old’s signature in the summer.
Tah will become a free agent at the end of the season and will reportedly seek a fresh challenge once Bayer’s Bundesliga title charge is concluded. The centre-back has long been linked with a move to the Premier League and that might now become a reality.
Chelsea may need a Thiago Silva replacement with Jonathan Tah linked (Image: Getty)
Having played 338 games for the German club, Tah could have the pick of several top European teams in the summer transfer window. Chelsea and Spurs will be right at the top of the pecking order, with the Premier League duo able to offer a hefty salary.
With Silva set to depart, Pochettino may decide that he wants another experienced defender to lead the club’s young stars. The Argentine has one of the Premier League’s youngest squads.
Silva has not played in the Premier League for Chelsea since a 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace February 12. He suffered an injury in the game but has since lost his place at centre-back to a pairing of Axel Disasi and Trevoh Chalobah.
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Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino will likely move Thiago Silva on in the summer (Image: Getty)
The former Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan player’s wife apologised on social media after calling for “change” in a social media post that was perceived to be a call for Chelsea to sack Pochettino. The Blues boss has since insisted that the episode - which followed Chelsea’s defeat against Wolves - has nothing to do with Silva’s exclusion.
“Why the question?” was the spiky response from the former Spurs head coach when asked why Silva was not picked for Chelsea’s FA Cup win over Leicester. “I am professional and a coach and I always pick my players because of performance and balance.
“I think I understand the question but I want to be calm because I need to be professional and I always make my decisions because of the professional side.”
