Kurt Zouma looking forward to learning from Thiago Silva at Chelsea

Now that Thiago Silva, one of the best centre backs in the sport, is a Chelsea player, other players in the same position will be feeling a bit of heat and will need to up their game. That includes Kurt Zouma, who has started and scored in our 3-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday, to begin the new Premier League season.

Zouma had the opportunity to face Thiago Silva twice in his career, once at former club Saint-Étienne and then as a Chelsea player in the Champions League when Thiago was with Paris Saint-Germain. But even if these meetings had not taken place, Zouma would have been well aware of Silva’s reputation as one of the “good guys” in football, as well as the wealth of experience the soon-to-be 36-year-old will bring to the table.

“I know he will bring experience [to Chelsea]. [He is] also a great guy off the pitch. He has played great matches, with Brazil, and the Champions League final recently (with Paris Saint-Germain, against Bayern Munich).”

Silva’s veteran experience should bode well not just for the club, and the strength and solidity of our defense, but also for players such as Zouma, who can learn from the older defender and become a better player himself.

“He will bring lots of experience, I would say. It will be good training with him, learning from him, it will be great.”

-Kurt Zouma; Source: Chelsea TV via UOL

Although Zouma has been around Chelsea for many years, he is still just 25 years old. His partner in the previous match, Andreas Christensen, is one year younger.

Learning from Thiago Silva should help them in developing further and polishing some of their rougher edges in their games. And Zouma is ready to take notes.