Trevoh Chalobah has opened up on his 19 years at Chelsea and revealed he regularly gets advice from his idol and ex-Blues teammate Thiago Silva on social media.
Chalobah joined Chelsea aged eight but left the club this summer to join the upwardly mobile Italian club Como, managed by Cesc Fabregas, who he says is “brilliant”.
The England centre-back is well placed to earn his fourth cap for his country when the Czech Republic come to Wembley on Tuesday, and Chalobah is thankful for how his time at Chelsea shaped his career.
An “amazing feeling” at Chelsea
Chalobah, 27, said it was an “amazing feeling” to make his World Cup debut in the third-place play-off against France and added of his 19-year association with Chelsea: “I’m really happy with what I achieved. Everything has tested me. It is testament to my faith and how I’ve gone about things there.
“Growing up at Chelsea, with what they did for me, and how they allowed me to get to the first team, I enjoyed every moment — the trophies I won, the big games I played in.
“It’s been amazing. I felt now was the right time to try something different and try something new.”
Thiago Silva’s “what if” lessons
Chalobah still speaks to former Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva, who is playing back in Brazil with Fluminense aged 42.
“Thiago has been a person I have always looked up to,” Chalobah said. “All the time when I was in school I used to watch YouTube videos of him, compilations of his game, from the time he was at AC Milan. To finally play with him at Chelsea was amazing and another dream come true.
“I’m always in contact with him. When he was at Chelsea, I used to study his recovery and how he performed and operated. That’s what I learned from him: the ‘what if’ situation. He always used to say: what if this happens or [that happens]?”
Asked whether Silva still gives him tips, Chalobah said: “Yes, definitely. We talk online a lot, on Instagram. Funnily enough, he was at the England-Spain game watching, so that was good.”
Life in Italy and a familiar face
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez followed Chalobah from Chelsea to Como, making a loan move late in the window, and Chalobah joked: “He didn’t want to leave me alone!”
Chalobah believes playing abroad is a “very important [thing] to get into your CV” and said of Italian football: “The Premier League is very fast, very physical, but I think [Italy] is a bit more tactical.
“Funnily enough, I went on a boat, and I drove past [George Clooney’s] house. [Como] is a really nice place and I suggest you should go.”
