Saul Niguez names the two Chelsea players who have surprised him most

The Chelsea new boy has revealed the two players that have surprised him since his arrival from Atletico Madrid on loan.

Romelu Lukaku and Thiago Silva have left new Chelsea teammate Saul Niguez surprised by their quality.

The midfielder, who joined the Blues in a deadline day loan move from Atletico Madrid, is getting to grips with life in London after leaving his native Spain almost three weeks ago. He made his Chelsea debut last weekend in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa.

As Saul only had one training session under his belt at the time, as well as his unfamiliarity with Thomas Tuchel’s system and English football itself, he struggled and came off at half-time.

But Saul has had more time since then and has gotten to appreciate the quality of the squad, with two of his new teammates leaving a lasting impression.

“I know many of the players, plus I followed the Premier League and Chelsea a lot,” Saul told Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano. “I know most of the players but if I had to say a name I would say Lukaku because I haven’t followed Serie A a lot.

“I never played against him. Against his brother [Jordan] yes, in the academy. Maybe I played against him as a kid in the national team, but I don’t remember.

“He and his brother are big and very strong. But I think this year in Serie A he has performed at a great level.”

Saul added: “I was very surprised by Thiago Silva too. A person at 36 years, with the level he has, being a professional in the gym every day with us.

“He works not to get injured, he is always focused, he is very intelligent tactically and understands football very well. It guides you in the match. He understands football very well and has surprised me a lot for good (reasons).”

Saul hopes to make his second appearance for Chelsea in Sunday’s derby against London rivals Tottenham. For match details, check out the link here.