Chelsea are reportedly pursuing a deal for Benfica defender Antonio Silva ahead of the summer transfer window, and Jose Mourinho is a big fan of the Portugal international.
Silva, 22, has been linked with Chelsea and other Premier League clubs over the last few years, ever since he broke into the senior side at Benfica. Already, Silva has clocked up a huge 172 appearances for Benfica.
Despite his tender age, Silva has also played 18 times for Portugal and is largely considered as Portugal’s answer to Pepe. Chelsea, meanwhile, are desperately in need of a commanding defender at the back.
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Wesley Fofana's replacement after Chelsea red card
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Chelsea have a plethora of options at centre-back and it is clear that Liam Rosenior does not know his best centre-back pairing. The Blues will listen to offers for Trevoh Chalobah, Tosin and Benoit Badiashile.
Having missed out on Jeremy Jacquet in January, a priority for Chelsea will be a new centre-back in the summer window and one option is Silva. Of course, Silva’s manager at Benfica is currently Jose Mourinho.
What Jose Mourinho said Antonio Silva is like in Benfica training
Back in November, Mourinho was questioned for his decision to drop Silva for a Champions League game between Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen, which resulted in the Portuguese side suffering a 1-0 home loss.
Instead of Silva, Mourinho picked Tomas Araujo and veteran Nicolas Otamendi. Quoted by O Jogo, the Special One explained that he has three brilliant options at centre-back and they are all at a similar level.
Benfica v Santa Clara - Portuguese Primeira Liga
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Describing both Silva and Araujo as “fantastic”, the former Chelsea gaffer shared what centre-back Silva is like behind the scenes in Benfica training: “I have three central defenders of extremely high quality.
“There are other positions where I might have more difficulty developing players. There, it’s a fantastic guarantee. They work very well together, they have different personalities,” Mourinho added, on Silva.
“In training, António is more exuberant than Tomás, but they are fantastic, young players. It’s a privilege to have Nico alongside them and to be able to learn from him. It’s not a problem at all,” he continued.
Why Chelsea could get themselves a bargain with Silva…
In the past, Benfica have stopped Premier League clubs and other interested parties from signing Silva because they wanted the entirety of his £84m release clause. It was their right to do so.
Discuss: Murillo would be Chelsea’s best CB if he joins…
Forest want £50m.
But now, things have changed. Silva’s contract has just 18 months left to run and come the summer, Silva will be in the final year of his Benfica deal. It will force Benfica to sell cheaper, avoiding a free transfer.
It is unclear how much Benfica might want, or at least, request from clubs in the coming months if Silva does not sign a new Benfica contract. But realistically, anything in the region of £50m is good business.
Silva is not the only centre-back that Chelsea have shown interest in, with Nottingham Forest’s Murillo another target ahead of the summer window. Kim Min-jae, Jules Kounde and more have been linked.
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