Thomas Tuchel has issued a warning to his veteran defender Thiago Silva over a new deal at Chelsea for the Brazil international who has less than ten months remaining on his current contract.
Silva joined the Blues in the 2020 summer transfer window on a free transfer after leaving Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain and the centre-back won the UEFA Champions League in his first season with Thomas Tuchel’s side.
However, with the player now 37 years old, there is speculation that Chelsea will not be too keen on offering Silva a contract extension beyond the next summer to prolong his stay at Stamford Bridge.
With Chelsea having to deal with the contract deadlock involving star defender Antonio Rudiger, there has been the talk of Tuchel prioritising a big-money move in the very near future for the Juventus man Matthijs de Ligt.
Tuchel dismissed such concerns in his pre-match press conference ahead of the weekend clash against Manchester City with the Chelsea boss asserting that Silva’s performance levels were key to a new contract for the Brazilian.
“It’s on him. He has to perform at this kind of level and that’s all he needs to stay here.
“It’s as easy and clear as that. When you play for Chelsea, you need to deliver and that is what he is doing. He is a top professional and if he wasn’t, it wouldn’t be performing at that level for many years.
“The age does not play a role. The only question we have to ask at the end of the season is this: Is he at the level that we need at Chelsea to compete in every competition? We have time for that, and we don’t have to answer that right now.”
