Ahead of the international break, a Chelsea academy graduate has heaped praise on Thiago Silva from when they were at Stamford Bridge together
Just a couple of weeks ago, Chelsea legend Thiago Silva made history by becoming the oldest player to debut in a European competition, as he appeared for FC Porto in the Europa League at the ripe old age of 41.
The defender played in both games of the club's round of 16 tie against Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart, winning each time and keeping a clean sheet in the second leg, showing that Silva still has it at the highest level.
It's a testament to his professionalism and leadership that he is still capable of performing even in his 40's. This has been echoed by Chelsea academy graduate Lewis Hall, who praised Silva.
When speaking to the media ahead of England's friendly with Uruguay on Friday evening, Hall was asked how much he learned from the Brazilian when it comes to leadership: "Yeah, so much. It goes without saying, really, the experience he's had in the game.
He's played a number of games at the highest level, and although he didn't speak much English, he was so good with me and always wanted to help me improve. He was obviously playing a lot of games at Chelsea at the time; he was playing quite regularly for someone his age.
He was taking time on the training pitch to try to help me out. I think at the time he, along with a lot of other players, was trying to help me improve. I think whenever you get to play and train with older players, you can always sort of learn a lot from them, and I'm really grateful for everything that they've taught me."
Some very nice words show what a good leader Silva was during his time at Stamford Bridge. It once again shows just how impressive his longevity is, given that he is 20 years older than Hall. He has been playing professional football since before the Newcastle United left-back was born, and still is today.
It's a real shame that he left for the North East back in 2023. There is no doubt that he would play a big part on the team. Marc Cucurella is good, but he's not as good as Hall, and he's six years older. Chelsea could have had their left back for the next decade, and a Cobham graduate at that. With Reece James on the other side. A shame.
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