Chelsea complete £50m Ben Chilwell signing and schedule Thiago Silva medical for Thursday
Chelsea have completed the £50 million transfer of Ben Chilwell and are close to signing Thiago Silva as Frank Lampard's recruitment drive continues.
Chilwell, the England international, has signed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge worth around £190,000 a week to end an 11-year association with Leicester City, in another huge statement of intent from Lampard.
Thiago Silva, the former Paris Saint-Germain defender, will follow imminently and is set for a medical at the club's training ground on Thursday.
The Brazil international is signing an initial one-year deal and is seen as another key signing as Lampard revamps his squad, following their fourth-placed finish in the Premier League last season.
Negotiations are continuing over a club record £90m deal for Kai Havertz, the Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder, as Chelsea move to take their spending this year over the £220m mark.
Chilwell, 23, was Lampard's No1 target at left-back and Chelsea have capitalised on Leicester's failure to qualify for the Champions League by bringing him to London.
He said: "I am delighted to be joining Chelsea at this very exciting time for the club. I’m looking forward to being a part of this young, dynamic squad led by Frank Lampard as we challenge for honours next season.
"I can’t wait to get started and hopefully it won’t be long before we’re playing in front of the Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge."
Chilwell is the latest recruit following the arrivals of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech earlier this summer.
He could miss the start of the 2020-21 campaign after sustaining a heel injury towards the end of the last season, but Chelsea medical staff are confident there are no major issues.
Marina Granovskaia, the Chelsea director, said: "We are very pleased to have completed our third addition to our exciting squad for the coming season. Ben brings plenty of top-level experience playing in the Premier League, Champions League and at international level, despite his young age.
"We are confident Ben will adapt very quickly to being a Chelsea player and with the fixture programme for 2020-21 especially busy, he is a fantastic addition to the squad needed to challenge for honours."
