Crystal Palace Action over The £26m move from Flamengo in August Thiago Silva Narrate

Thiago Silva sends message to Matheus Franca

Well, the Brazil international went up against the Brazil U20 international at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday as Chelsea recorded a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.

Franca bizarrely received just a few minutes of action from Roy Hodgson, coming on for stoppage time after Chelsea had taken the lead in the 89th minute.

It means the 19-year-old has played just 40 minutes of Premier League football since his £26m move from Flamengo in August, and Silva has now sent a message to his fellow countryman.

The 39-year-old wrote “boa continuação mlkao deus abençoe” which loosely translates to “good continuation and God bless” – in other words, keep going and God bless.

Franca responded to the £110,000-a-week man, writing “muito obrigado ídolo um prazer jogar contra você” which means “thank you very much idol, a pleasure to play against you”.

It is nice to see the teenager meet an idol of his, as there hasn’t been much else for him to get excited about at Selhurst Park under Hodgson.

Crystal Palace need to have a word with Hodgson

If the 76-year-old is to stay in his role at Selhurst Park, Steve Parish needs to speak to him about Franca.

Of course, we would never approve of a Chairman selecting the lineup, although the current situation cannot go on as it is.

Dougie Freedman worked hard to fend off Real Madrid in the battle to sign Franca, and we cannot afford to keep a £26m teenager wasting away on the bench – especially as the South American has already shown flashes of his obvious talent.