[1] Southampton were facing mounting debts and, with this fact known to many of the country's top clubs, Sillett, together with his younger brother John, was "induced" to join Ted Drake's Chelsea, for a fee of £12,000.
Sillett stepped up to take it and nervelessly smashed the ball past goalkeeper Bert Williams to give Chelsea a 1–0 win and complete a league double over Wolves, one of five goals he netted in the run-in.
He also turned out for the representative London XI in the 1955-58 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup alongside Chelsea teammates Ken Armstrong, Derek Saunders and Jim Lewis, during which the side reached the final, though they lost on aggregate to FC Barcelona.
Sillett captained the England under-23 side on four occasions in 1955 skippering teams that included Ronnie Clayton, Bobby Robson, Johnny Haynes and Duncan Edwards.
Chelsea legend and captain of the 1954/5 championship winning side, Roy Bentley, described Peter Sillett as one of the greatest passers of a ball he has ever seen and the first man in the game that could regularly produce 100-yard passes direct to a teammate.
Technically superb Sillett was courted by Italian giants Juventus but turned down the move in typically laid back fashion by reportedly stating that Italy was "too bloody hot for football".