Chelsea left red-faced as Thiago Silva transfer plot fails with striker snubbing move

Paulo Dybala has made it clear that he has no intention of leaving Roma this summer despite Thiago Silva’s best efforts at persuading him to join Chelsea. The Argentine star says he is “happy” at Roma and intends to stay at the club for the foreseeable future.

Speaking to LaRoma24, Dybala said: “I’m motivated for pre-season, which we’re starting [on Monday]. My future? I’m happy at Roma. I’m staying here.”

Dybala had been linked with a move to Chelsea to join forces with long-time admirer Mauricio Pochettino next season. The Blues boss tried to snap him up in 2019 when he was Tottenham’s head coach but a deal couldn’t be struck at the time.

The 29-year-old is understood to have a £10million release clause in his contract at Roma contract which he only signed last summer. For that price, many clubs will be queuing up to sign the World Cup winner and Chelsea defender Silva thinks it would make for an excellent piece of business for the west Londoners.

The Brazilian veteran bumped into Dybala at Silverstone ahead of Sunday’s British Grand Prix, and revealed that they had spoken about a potential move to Stamford Bridge.

“I saw him inside the paddock,” Silva told Sky Sports. “Normally he and I speak in Spanish or Portuguese, I was pleased to see him here because I read news that maybe he comes to Chelsea. 

“If he comes? I don’t know, I asked him but he didn’t want to tell me. I would like to have him at Chelsea, he is a champion. It would help a lot if he were to come.”

Dybala enjoyed an excellent campaign at Roma last season despite missing several games due to injury. In 38 appearances in all competitions, he scored 18 goals and created eight assists for the Italian giants.

However, Roma were only able to finish sixth in Serie A and were beaten by Sevilla on penalties in the Europa League final, preventing them from qualifying for the Champions League.