Thiago Silva will undergo a medical at Chelsea on Thursday ahead of his move from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.
The Brazilian enjoyed a stellar conclusion to the recent epilogue of the Champions League, as his stout partnership with Presnel Kimpembe helped PSG progress into the competition's showpiece, where they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Bayern Munich.
Now, despite being the ripe old age of 35, Silva's ready for a new challenge and reports have surfaced of the centre-back rejecting a late bid from Thomas Tuchel and Les Parisiens to keep him at the club. Instead he is Chelsea bound, with Sky Sports reporting that he'll arrive in west London for a medical on Thursday ahead of his transfer.
Tuchel remains a huge admirer of the Brazilian and was keen for the club to offer him a new deal, but sporting director Leonardo didn't share the same vision regarding their skipper and is instead willing to allow him to leave.
It's understood relations between compatriots Silva and Leonardo had deteriorated significantly in recent weeks.
Nevertheless, PSG's loss is Chelsea's gain and Silva's expected to sign a one-year deal at Stamford Bridge in order to bolster a mightily vulnerable Blues backline.
Lampard and the club are said to be enamoured by the 35-year-old's wealth of experience at the highest level. So much so, that Brazilian news outlet Globo Esporte reports the Chelsea boss as keen to make Silva the club's captain for next season.
The PSG stalwart may not be the only defensive reinforcement brought in by the Blues this week either.
The club has reportedly agreed a deal with another free agent in Malang Sarr - who'll likely be loaned out for the upcoming campaign if he was to sign, while Lille goalkeeper Mike Maignan has emerged as a potential target to displace Kepa Arrizabalaga between the sticks.
Source : 90min