Chelsea line up Bayern defender as Silva replacement

Karan Tejwani

14 Oct 2022 07:40 BST
3 min read

Chelsea are identifying options in case Thiago Silva doesn’t renew his contract at Stamford Bridge and leaves the club at the end of his deal this summer.

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The Blues have invested heavily in their defence over the last few months with the signings of Wesley Fofana, Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Koulibaly and others.

However, they are likely to be back in the market for a new centre-half next year as Silva is yet to agree a new deal and could be on the move in a free transfer.

Now, they have identified Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard as an option and are seriously considering an approach for him in the near future to improve their defensive line.

Pavard targeted for Chelsea backline

Pavard has a contract at the German champions until the summer of 2024, and Bayern Munich are keen on opening talks to get that deal extended to avoid losing him on a free later on.

According to Bild, however, Chelsea are set to firm up their interest in the Frenchman and they view him as a reasonable target for future windows.

The Blues were interested in Pavard earlier this year but decided against a move as they pursued other targets instead, allowing the Frenchman to remain in Bavaria.

🚀🇫🇷😱#OnThisDay one year ago, @BenPavard28 struck this stunning Goal of the Tournament for @FrenchTeam at the #WorldCup! pic.twitter.com/j9W9DVAqKS
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 30, 2019

Pavard can play at both right-back and centre-back and was part of the World Cup-winning squad with France in 2018, before his move to Bayern Munich from Stuttgart the following year.

He started the season in Julian Nagelsmann’s first-team plans but has since been replaced by Noussair Mazraoui, who only moved clubs this summer, as his contract at Ajax came to an end.

There’s a belief that he could be tempted by a move if he doesn’t regain his starting place in Nagelsmann’s teams anytime soon and that may invite Chelsea to make a move for the defender in the near future.