Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has no doubts regarding the age of Thiago Silva.

The Blues picked up the Brazilian veteran on a free transfer after he left Paris Saint-Germain.

Silva is 35 and has played for some of the biggest clubs in the world, including AC Milan.

And his experience is precisely why Lampard wanted him in the squad.

"I think Thiago Silva is the one player we've bought in at the end of his career," Lampard told NBC Sports.

"But I had no worries about bringing him in because when I watched him in the Champions League run to the final he looked fit and lean and every bit the player that I know Thiago Silva to be.

"So he also will then bring us the experience of playing in winning teams and what it takes to win.

"I hope he can lead from the back in terms of how he holds himself and communicates with others around him because we have younger players in and around him.

"And hopefully that will address some of the defensive problems that I've mentioned.

Asked if he had decided on his best defence, Lampard replied: "I do have that in my mind at the moment but as we saw last year it changed a lot.

"And some of that you don't always want, you want a consistency in who you pick but you also have to have competition at the same time.

"The challenge for the players at the back is can you show with your training and the way you play that you deserve to be there and a consistent performance that means I don't change it.

"And then the challenge goes to the players who want to get into the team. And that's how you generate an uplift in levels among the squad.

"You bring in players who hopefully bring the general level up as opposed to anyone who may take it as a negative and think, 'that's me done'. No, everyone has to rise and try to fight for their place in the team."