10 Premier League Transfers That Would Change Everything
5. Thiago Silva
More of the world’s best defenders play in the Premier League than anywhere else. A lot of smaller clubs in England produce master classes of defending, regularly frustrating the expensive world class strikers of top clubs, and on many occasions every season that technique leads to smaller teams toppling the big teams. It is all part of what makes the Premier League so astonishing.
Thiago Silva was considered to be one of the top defenders in the world before the 2014 World Cup. By August 2014, he was being listed as one of the worst Paris Saint-Germain players by fans. The World Cup was disastrous. But the measure of a great defender is how many duels they win.
Silva managed an 89% success rating in the 2015 half of last season for one-on-one duels with attackers, and in the process won his own personal duel to overcome his World Cup shame. His work helped PSG to the Ligue 1 title. It would certainly be interesting to see him pull on the shirt of an English club next season.