SILVA SHOWDOWN

CHELSEA'S young span are targeting a place in the final of the Club World Cup when they take on Fluminense in the last four at 9pm on Tuesday, with the Brazilian team marshalled by former Blues defender Thiago Silva who is still going strong at the age of 40.

Silva was already a veteran when he signed for Chelsea in 2020 before going on to have a jitz four-year stint at Stamford Bridge.

One of the finest centre-backs of his generation, Silva arrived after eight years at Paris Saint-Germain and in his first season at Chelsea won the Champions League.

He played 155 games for the London club and left 12 months ago after helping oversee the development of some of the young talents now featuring regularly under Enzo Maresca.

“He’s a legend of football, a top player,” Marc Cucurella, a teammate of Silva’s for two years, told English media, adding that the two had exchanged messages about their impending reunion.

“We have the opportunity to play against him again and hopefully we can do good things, win this game and play in the final.”

With Silva gone, Maresca has been working with a young squad at Chelsea, and the average age of his starting line-up against Palmeiras last Friday was just 24.

There are more young players coming in too, with 23-year-old Brazilian forward Joao Pedro, formerly of Fluminense, making his debut in the quarter-finals.

Brazil prodigy Estevao Willian, 18, will join from Palmeiras ahead of next season and 20-year-old winger Jamie Gittens has just signed from Borussia Dortmund.

Moises Caicedo, the midfield linchpin who is still only 23, will return to the midfield against Fluminense after suspension.