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Silva says age not a problem as he starts his Chelsea career

SHOWS: LISBON, PORTUGAL (AUGUST 22, 2020) (UEFA - NO RESALES, NO COMMERCIAL USE, MUST ON-SCREEN COURTESY "©UEFA 2020")

1. THIAGO SILVA TRAINING WITH PARIS ST GERMAIN

LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (SEPTEMBER 22, 2020) (CHELSEA HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL)

2. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) THIAGO SILVA SAYING:

"First of all I'd like to say how happy I am to be here. This is a really important moment for me. It's another opportunity in my life and I'll say I'm very well prepared, I've been working hard towards this.

"So tomorrow will be my first game and I think it'll go well given the way that we've been training.

"Little by little we'll be working and getting to the level where we have to be."

LISBON, PORTUGAL (AUGUST 22, 2020) (UEFA - NO RESALES, NO COMMERCIAL USE, MUST ON-SCREEN COURTESY "©UEFA 2020")

3. SILVA ADJUSTING HIS BOOT

LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (SEPTEMBER 22, 2020) (CHELSEA HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL)

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) THIAGO SILVA SAYING:

"For the truth, this started during the lockdown period. Leonardo called me and he asked me to extend my contract for two months to be able to cover the Champions League finals and I said okay, no problem, because I wanted to continue to remain with the group right to the end, I look to finish the things I started.

"The two months after the Champions League my thinking was I wouldn't be there any longer and I definitely spoke to my agent about this and we looked into other options for my future.

"After the Champions League final and returning to Paris I had a meeting with Leonardo and we talked about my intentions and the possibility of staying, but on that Monday morning after the Champions League final I'd spoken to my lawyers and I'd already given the okay to Chelsea, I'd already made my decision.

"But I'm really grateful to Paris St Germain for everything they did for my life, for the life of my family. But now I'm at a new project, a new club, where I'm highly motivated, I'm very prepared for this new challenge in the Premier League, and I hope to contribute as much as possible to the young players here who have tremendous quality."

DORTMUND, GERMANY (FILE - FEBRUARY 17, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

5. SILVA HAVING A SIP OF A DRINK DURING PSG TRAINING

LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (SEPTEMBER 22, 2020) (CHELSEA HANDOUT - ACCESS ALL)

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) THIAGO SILVA SAYING:

"If I were to say yes to you about that I would be lying. I've never really seen myself in the Premier League previously. That was because I saw it as a difficult style of football personally, I didn't have any desire to play in the Premier League.

"My impression of the football played was long balls, high balls, long shots, and at the time I couldn't really see myself playing in that championship. But over time I've seen that the championship has developed tremendously, there's a lot more technical quality, a lot of teams play with the ball on the ground, full backs attacking in the area. Each team has their own idea and their own strengths, but previously I'd seen it characterised by long balls and that didn't really appeal to me. Obviously I know how to play that way but my preference was to play football with the ball on the ground, I knew my quality. But little by little Premier League football won me over, anyone who knows me can confirm that, and now at 36 I'm arriving to play in the best championship in the world.

"The Premier league is usually a championship that brings young players into play so I'm coming here as an older player because Chelsea and Frank Lampard want a player with my experience. So if you want someone who is a runner I'll use the words of Carlo Ancelotti used to describe the signing of James (Rodriguez), if you want someone to run they could have signed Usain Bolt.

"So with the experience and the excellent young players here I hope to help these young players in this new adventure."

LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE - MAY 29, 2018) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

7. SILVA DURING TRAINING SESSION WITH BRAZIL

STORY: Chelsea's new Brazilian defender Thiago Silva, who turned 36 on Tuesday (September 22), said age is not a problem as he prepares to make his debut for the London club.

The former Paris St Germain centre back signed a year-long deal plus the option of a further 12 months at Chelsea and said he could not wait to get started.

"This is a really important moment for me. It's another opportunity in my life and I'll say I'm very well prepared, I've been working hard towards this.

"I'm at a new project, a new club, where I'm highly motivated, I'm very prepared for this new challenge in the Premier League."

Silva, who has 89 caps for Brazil and has played in three World Cups, said he hopes his experience will help the young players in the Chelsea set-up.

"I hope to contribute as much as possible to the young players here who have tremendous quality," he said.

Silva said it was the quality of football in the Premier League that attracted him, after previously not considering moving to an English club due to the long ball game that a lot of clubs previously favoured.

"My impression of the football played was long balls, high balls, long shots, and at the time I couldn't really see myself playing in that championship. But over time I've seen that the championship has developed tremendously.

"Little by little Premier League football won me over, anyone who knows me can confirm that, and now at 36 I'm arriving to play in the best championship in the world."

Silva missed Chelsea's opening two league games, including Sunday's 2-0 defeat by champions Liverpool, but manager Frank Lampard confirmed that he will feature at some point against Barnsley in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

(Production: Andy Ragg)