Chelsea have held talks about a free transfer move for Paris Saint-Germain defender Thiago Silva.
Veteran defender Silva will leave PSG once his contract expires following Sunday’s Champions League final against Bayern Munich in Lisbon.
Silva, 35, has received other offers including one from Italian side Fiorentina.
The Brazilian was offered to Chelsea and a possible move has been discussed with his representatives.
Silva would represent an ideal cut-price solution in manager Frank Lampard’s efforts to bolster his squad and a defence which shipped 54 goals, the most in the Premier League’s top 10 last season.
Chelsea have already spent big to land attackers Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner and German starlet Kai Havertz is also hoping Chelsea can strike an agreement to sign him from Bayer Leverkusen soon.
He has already agreed a five-year contract and talks are ongoing between the clubs over a fee with Leverkusen wanting £90m.
Other Chelsea targets, Leicester left-back Ben Chilwell, West Ham’s versatile Declan Rice and Atletico Madrid’s Jose Gimenez will all come with hefty price tags.
Thiago is hoping to secure a two-year deal at his next club after eight years at PSG, winning the title in seven of those seasons.
But there are reports that haggling over the length of his lucrative contract could scupper a transfer.
The Brazilian is preparing to make his farewell appearance for the French champions in Sunday’s Champions League final and with no immediate plans to retire, he has been shopped round for his next move.
Chelsea have typically only offered one-year deals to players over the age of 30 and with the Brazilian turning 36 next month, there may well be a reluctance to go against that policy to recruit Silva.
David Luiz and Willian, now both at Arsenal, were both granted exceptions for their contract offers and so it could well be that Lampard’s desire to add big-game experience to his defence gets the deal done.
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