Chelsea are ready to activate the clause in Thiago Silva's contract that will extend his stay at Stamford Bridge by a further year.
Following his departure from French giants Paris Saint-Germain last summer, Chelsea, who face Tottenham Hotspur in a crunch Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, swooped to sign the Brazilian on a free-transfer.
He put pen to paper on a one-year deal with the option of a second if the club was left impressed by his performances.
So far this season, Silva, 36, has been one of the Blues' most important figures, helping Frank Lampard's side rack up six clean sheets in his first nine appearances.
Now, according to Sky Sports, Chelsea are ready to extend the veteran's deal by a further year, having been more than impressed by the way he has adapted to English football.
Having made his Blues debut in the dramatic 3-3 draw against West Bromwich Albion in late-September, questions were raised whether or not Silva was capable of still playing at such a high level.
However, since that evening at the Hawthorns, Chelsea's defensive line has been breached just four times in their last six Premier League games, though Silva has only played four times during that sequence.
Nevertheless, the former AC Milan ace has been impressive since arriving in west London, demonstrating his experience and leadership qualities.
And his leadership qualities will have come as no surprise to Lampard, who admitted at the time of signing the Brazilian that his leadership skills were of the key reasons for getting a deal wrapped up.
Lampard said: "Certainly a leader. He'll bring that with him by nature. He doesn't speak the language that great at the moment but we'll work on that.
"By presence, by attitude in training and quality of the player, he commands respect and it is great having him around.
"That's all you can ask for as a coach."
