Kurt Zouma reveals what Thiago Silva offers to Chelsea

Kurt Zouma has been left suitably impressed by Thiago Silva and revealed what the defender offers to Chelsea.

Silva joined Chelsea at the end of August on a free transfer after his contract at Paris Saint-Germain had expired.

The Brazilian is widely regarded as one of the finest center-backs of the last decade, having impressed for AC Milan and PSG. At the age of 36, however, there were a few small doubts over what he could offer Chelsea.

Not helping matters was a forgettable Premier League debut, which saw Silva practically gift Callum Robinson a goal in a 3-3 draw against West Brom.

But the seven-time Ligue 1 winner delivered a much better display at the second time of asking against Crystal Palace, helping the Blues keep a clean sheet in a resounding 4-0 win over their fellow London club.

Now Zouma, who was on target against Palace, opened up on how Silva’s experience, leadership qualities, and defensive abilities will prove a most helpful asset for the Chelsea squad.

“You can see straight away, as soon as he [Thiago Silva] walked through the door at Cobham, he gives advice to the players around him,” the French defender told the club’s website.

He’s really good with people and you can definitely see he has very good leadership skills.

“Everyone has welcomed Thiago into the group and we are all happy he’s with us at Chelsea.

“I’m very excited to work with Thiago but I don’t think I’m the only one, a lot of the guys here at Chelsea feel exactly the same. We are all excited to play with him and to learn from him.

“He’s got great experience at the highest level, he’s won a lot of titles and last season he played in the Champions League final.

“For me, he’s got everything. He’s calm on the ball, he can defend very well, his positioning is great. I’m very happy he’s here and excited to learn from him.”

Cesar Azpilicueta recently revealed Thiago doesn’t speak English and is communicating with some of his teammates through French and Italian.

Zouma added: “He doesn’t speak English that well just yet but he speaks French, so I can help him with that and so can a few other boys.”