Chelsea open talks to beat Man Utd to top defender target a whole transfer window earlier

Chelsea are accelerating a move for Benfica defender Antonio Silva before Manchester United can get their hands on him instead, a report has claimed.

Back in November, Sky Sports Deutschland expert Florian Plettenberg insisted Silva was Man Utd’s top centre-back target for the summer of 2024. Sources have also confirmed to TEAMtalk about the conditions behind a potential deal with the Red Devils.

However, according to The Sun, Chelsea have now thrown a spanner in the works by opening talks for Silva this month.

TEAMtalk revealed back in October that Silva was on Chelsea’s shortlist, admired specifically by head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

The latest update suggests Chelsea have identified Silva as a January target after scouting him recently, even approaching Benfica about a deal already.

It is claimed that Chelsea have proposed a £52m package that would include Armando Broja going to Benfica as a counterpart.

The Portuguese club, though, had little interest in that suggestion and are waiting until Silva’s £87m release clause is activated.

Now it is over to Chelsea to meet that fee if they are indeed confident that Silva is the right target to reinforce their defence with.

The report refers to Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi struggling to cement their places at Chelsea since their transfers from Monaco last January and August respectively.

Furthermore, Thiago Silva is out of contract at the end of the season, when he will be approaching his 40th birthday. It puts his future in doubt, although he remains one of Chelsea’s best players.

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Could Silva succeed Silva for Chelsea?

At the age of 20, namesake Antonio Silva could become a long-term successor to the Brazilian if Chelsea can agree a deal to buy him from Benfica.

Benfica have enjoyed Silva’s services throughout his entire professional career so far after developing him within their academy.

To date, he has 67 appearances to his name for the club, including 23 this season. Silva has also been capped seven times by the Portugal national team.

Other than Chelsea and Man Utd, he has also caught the attention of Liverpool, but there is no sign of them trying to match a January attempt to sign him just yet.

Indeed, most clubs are reluctant to spend excessive amounts on players in January. Chelsea are not ‘most clubs’ in that regard, though.

This time last year, they raided Benfica by activating the release clause of midfielder Enzo Fernandez in a club-record purchase.

12 months later, a similar operation with the same club could be in the pipeline, even if the report does not explicitly state if Chelsea are willing to pay £87m for Silva.

In October, our own sources doubted their willingness to.

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