England’s defence at the 2026 World Cup is likely to have a very Cobham feel to it, and Lewis Hall is the favourite to nail down the starting left-back position.
Chelsea’s sale of Hall is seen as one of the club’s greatest regrets, with him now a regular for Newcastle in the Premier League and Champions League.
Hall could start on the opposite side to Reece James, who is still expected to start at right-back despite injury ruling him out of Thomas Tuchel’s current squad.
One of many problems on the pitch at the moment 🤦♂️
Chelsea's Wesley Fofana
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The left-back was at Chelsea at a difficult time for the club, particularly when Graham Potter was in charge, however he did get the positive impact of working alongside Thiago Silva at the back.
Hall told Hayters TV that despite the language barrier, he learnt a lot from the Brazilian during their time at Stamford Bridge together.
Chelsea FC v Nottingham Forest - Premier League
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He said: “So much. It goes without saying really the experience he has in the game. He’s played a number of games at the highest level, and although he didn’t really speak much English, he was so good with me and always wanted to help me improve.
“He was obviously playing a lot of games for Chelsea, and quite regularly for someone of his age, he was taking time on the training pitch to try and help me out. At the time, him and a lot of other players were trying to help me improve. Whenever you get to play and train with older players, you learn a lot from them. I’m really grateful.”
Silva’s departure at the end of the 2023/24 campaign has left a massive void in terms of experience at the back that the club have still refused to fill.
This has seen Liam Rosenior inherit plenty of defensive issues upon his arrival, as the club wait for Levi Colwill to return to full fitness.
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Cesc Fabregas and Filipe Luis
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Thiago Silva still going strong at 41
After playing against Chelsea in the Club World Cup semi-finals, Silva has returned to Europe to feature for Porto.
Despite Blues fans crying out for them to sign Silva, he is continuing to thrive during his time in the Portuguese league.
It looks as if the Brazil international is not ready to call it a day just yet, with it not out of the realms of possibility that his national team could look to him with the World Cup around the corner.
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