Thiago Silva tried to get Chelsea to sign West Ham United star Lucas Paqueta
Thiago Silva tried to get Chelsea to sign record West Ham signing Lucas Paqueta before his move to the London Stadium this summer, the defender has revealed.
The Hammers landed their new Brazilian star late in the window from Lyon (29 August), in a move that could end up costing €60million, but not before international teammate Silva attempted to convince officials over at Stamford Bridge to make a move for him.
The pair are likely to come up against each other in the first match after the transfer window shut, as the Irons travel to their west London rivals on Saturday (3 September) for a clash which the centre-back hopes the big-money man comes away from unhappy.
Speaking to ESPN Brazil the 37-year-old said: “No, no I didn’t speak to him in relation to his life here, I found out that he was about to leave Lyon, right?
“I had some conversations with some people here but unfortunately things didn’t work out because we weren’t 100% sure he was going to go out to anyone.
“In the last week this thing got much stronger [but] we have some other priorities [here] because of injuries that we have on the team.
“I just hope he can be sad on Saturday right? Then he can stay happy [and] arrive at the World Cup the way he knows how to do. [That is] to play football.”
Make them pay
West Ham fans will enjoy it all the more if David Moyes can get a result at Stamford Bridge now, especially if Paqueta can have a significant say in proceedings.
Both sides have spent heavily in the summer window, but while the Scot appears to have had a plan to his recruitment, even if events sometimes turned those plans upside down, the same can’t really be said of Thomas Tuchel.
The Blues were the biggest spenders of all, and added two more on deadline day in the form of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Denis Zakaria, although neither are available to face the Hammers.
The money spent hasn’t done either side a great deal of good so far, with a combined five losses already this season.
But while Chelsea have lost two of their last three and only escaped with the win in between by the skin of their teeth, Moyes has his side finally on the up with four points in the past two games after a winless and goalless stretch.
The Irons boss will be delighted that he has Paqueta in his ranks, and the 25-year-old is sure to have a big contribution to make to any successes the club has this season.
And the perfect start to life in east London would be to remind Silva and his side what they have missed out on at the weekend.