Chelsea defender Thiago Silva is happy with his leadership role amongst the newly assembled dressing room.

The Blues signed eight new players last month, one of whom, Malo Gusto, has returned on loan to Lyon for the rest of 2022/23. Enzo Fernandez and Noni Madueke were the latest to make their debut, in the goalless draw with Fulham, while Thiago's compatriot Andrey Santos is competing at the Under-20 South American Championship in Colombia.

"It's the first time I've seen something like this in my whole career," Thiago told chelseafc.com of their January activity.

"This shows about the ambition of the club, how much the club wants to win. We had a lot of injury problems this year. A lot of new players arrived and that takes time to prepare and get used to.

"We know we're not having the best season, but I really believe that the positive thing is: if we don't start well, we can finish well. So, that's what we need to learn as a lesson, try to get settled in as soon as possible, because there's no time left, because the Champions League will start again soon.

"We need everyone to be ready, at the same page, we won't be at 100 per cent, but the knowledge of each other has to be important at this moment to build chemistry."

Despite the flurry of new arrivals, including in central defence, Thiago Silva remains a mainstay of the Chelsea side, belying his 38 years and leading by example.

"I have my responsibility to understand that we have a young team and that the team theoretically needs me and my help," he said.

"For me to help, I need to be physically well, I need to be well recovered. We have a great communication with staff, because I tell them that I need to be well.

"If I'm tired, besides damaging the defence, I won't be able to help my team. So we have this plan that is a little different to the other players, but I'm always on the [training] pitch, every day, I'm never outside of the game and I hope the season ends this way."