Chelsea make opening bid for Antonio Silva

Chelsea have made an opening bid to sign Benfica defender Antonio Silva this month, according to Record.

The Blues are aiming to bring in another young centre-back and Silva is deemed as their priority transfer target.

It is reported that they recently proposed to sign him for €60 million, but the offer was knocked back by Benfica.

The Portuguese champions are quite clear that they won't sanction his sale for less than his €100m release clause.

It remains to be seen whether the Blues will come close to the figure or wait until the summer to negotiate a fee.

Manchester United are also firm admirers of the young sensation, but the club have no funds at the current point of time.

Liverpool and Real Madrid have also been linked with the 20-year-old, who could become a world-class star soon.

Silva has been touted to leave Benfica by the summer. Joao Neves is also likely to pursue a bigger challenge this year.