Thiago Silva appears to snub Chelsea captaincy after twice passing the armband to Enzo Fernandez in recent matches…despite Mauricio Pochettino previously hailing the Brazilian’s leadership responsibilities
- Thiago Silva doesn’t appear to have any interest in becoming Chelsea captain
- The Brazilian has passed the armband on to Enzo Fernandez in recent matches
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It appears that Thiago Silva has no interest in taking on captaincy duties at Chelsea after twice passing the armband on in recent clashes against West Ham and Luton.
The Brazilian is the most experienced player in Chelsea’s set-up at the age of 38 and boasts success in Brazil, Italy, France and England.
However, Silva evidently doesn’t want to take on armband responsibilities within the team and has appeared to refuse becoming stand-in captain during matches.
Reece James is Chelsea’s new permanent skipper but is side-lined after suffering a hamstring injury during training.
That has paved the way for England full-back Ben Chilwell to take on leadership duties in his absence, however, the defender is yet to complete 90 minutes for Chelsea this campaign, meaning another on-field captain has had to fill in.
Thiago Silva (middle) was handed the captain’s armband by Ben Chilwell (left) in Friday’s win over Luton
Silva (left) has previously been hailed as a ‘captain’ by Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino (right)
Silva (left) appears to have no interest in taking on captaincy duties after twice passing the armband to Enzo Fernandez (right)
Silva previously wanted to become Chelsea captain under Mauricio Pochettino but was snubbed by the Argentinian who instead opted to entrust the youth and long-serving Blues relationship of James.
The Brazilian is a natural leader both in defence and the dressing room and was widely expected to be named as Blues captain after agreeing a one-year deal to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea even released a statement after they decided against appointing Silva where Pochettino stressed the centre-back would still be a captain at some point over the course of the season.
‘Our first conversation was really good. I explained my ideas and the project, and I think he was agreeing, listening to ideas. He was really humble. I said to him, “Look Thiago, I know you really well but to assure you that you are going to play, like any player, you need to deserve to play.”
‘For different reasons and circumstances, I am looking at not only the present but the future. It was a great opportunity, because he is ready, for Reece to be the captain. When the player is clever like Thiago, who is 38 and nearly 39. Do you think he is thinking about needing the armband? He is a captain as well like Reece and Chilwell.
‘You don’t need the armband on your arm to feel captain. He is captain also. He is going to help Chilwell and Reece to be great captains for the club.’
However, recent Premier League outings suggest the Brazilian is shirking his expected temporary captaincy role with Silva twice passing on the armband to midfielder Fernandez instead.
Chilwell’s substitutions in recent games against West Ham and Luton saw him pass the armband onto Silva.
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Reece James was named as Chelsea’s permanent captain but is currently side-lined through injury
Pochettino (left) decided to snub Silva (right) for the captaincy role this season despite the Brazilian’s undoubted experience
Both occasions have then seen Silva pass the armband to Fernandez. The Argentinian only moved to Stamford Bridge in January after completing his £107m move from Benfica.
Against Luton, Chilwell made a point of putting the captain attire onto the arm of Silva directly before Fernandez was then shown to be wearing it at full-time.
Fernandez is still settling in after a disastrous previous season for Chelsea that saw the club finish 13th in the Premier League standings and without any silverware.
The Blues secured their first win of the new season in Friday’s 3-0 victory over Luton that Silva played 90 minutes in.
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