And says he would be ‘very welcome’ at the Parc des Princes…
Paris Saint Germain captain Thiago Silva has hailed Chelsea forward Eden Hazard ahead of the clash between the two sides on Tuesday evening.
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The Belgian was long linked, and seriously courted by, the Ligue 1 champions before signing a new five and a half deal at Chelsea last week to keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2020.
But despite this PSG skipper Thiago Silva has said the Blues forward is ‘very welcome’ in the French capital and that he is one of the key performers in the Chelsea side.
“All their players are very accomplished, but I believe the Brazilians always make the difference, plus Hazard,” Thiago Silva said in an interview with PSG sponsor Nissan, reports Independent.
“[Hazard] is not just good, he is very good!! If he really comes, he will be very welcome.”
Silva also said the French champions are looking to reach the final this season and believe they have learnt the lessons from their late loss to Jose Mourinho’s side in the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season.
PSG had won the first leg 3-1 and looked set to reach the semi-finals before a late, late Demba Ba goal rescued the west London side and sent them through on away goals.
“We learn a lot from all defeats; one important thing to always remember is that until the referee stops, the match is not done yet. In the last match [against Chelsea] we thought our team was already qualified,” said Silva.
PSG come into this match on an impressive nine game unbeaten run, however they come off a late collapse against Caen which saw them surrender a two goal lead after the 89th minute to draw at home against the bottom half of the table side on Saturday.
Chelsea meanwhile have had the luxury of a weekend off meaning their shock loss to Bradford in the FA Cup last month may have actually given them an edge on their European rivals.