Chelsea’s Willian is one of the most loved footballers in Frank Lampard‘s team. Chelsea Fans never stop to sing his praise whenever he is featured in a match.
The consistency of the 31-year-old and the manner at which he joined the club in 2013 has made him so reverend at the club. Recall that in 2013, the owner of Chelsea Roman Abramovich had to hijack Willian’s £30 million deal from Tottenham few hours to the close of the transfer window.
It was reported that Tottenham paid for Willians’ air-ticket from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. The Brazilian was said to have spent some hours at the lodge of Tottenham waiting to sign the deal before he was hijacked by Chelsea.
For the fact that Willian who was 25-year-old then agreed to such a manoeuvre, Chelsea fans composed a song for him which they always use to mock their London rival. The line of the song goes: “The s—s from Spurs, they bought his flight, but Willian, he saw the light.” The ‘light’ in the song means if Willian had gone to Tottenham, he would not have been able to win the Premier League, Champions League and other laurels he won at Chelsea.
Now, the tone of the song is changing and things are not looking the same for Willian who has proven over time that he has a special place in his heart for Chelsea. His contract with the club will officially expire this June and he and the club have been in talks to see how his contract can be extended.
Why Willian might Leave Chelsea
One of the stumbling blocks against Willian’s contract extension is that the Brazilian versatile football star is above 30. In Chelsea, it is against the club policy to offer a player above 30 more than one year contract.
However, due to the commitment and the importance of Willian to the plans of Lampard so far, the club has agreed to offer him two years extension. But the Chelsea star who has settled so well in London does not want a short extension, he wants three years deal.
He has said in a couple of interviews that he would not stay if the club does not agree a three years deal with him. “I said I wanted three more years. The situation is difficult because of this. I really don’t know if it will be possible”, Willian told Esporte Interativo.
For the fact that Chelsea decided to breach their own club policy to offer him a two years extension proved that the Argentine is not surplus to requirement. Frank Lampard has proven that too by using him 25 times out of 26 possible times since he returned from his last injury in 2019.
Before the 2019-2020 season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic, Willian has given Lampard his best by scoring seven times and making six assists in 37 appearances in all competitions. But that could not guarantee him his three years deal. “We’re not talking anymore. There won’t be a negotiation”, he told Expediente Futebol to put an end to the possibility of staying at Chelsea.
This has opened the doors to Chelsea’s London rivals – Arsenal and Tottenham to fight for his signature. Before them, Spanish La Liga giant Barcelona has shown interest.
But from all indications, Willian is most likely to remain in London due to the business interest he already has in the Queen’s city. Hence, all Arsenal or Tottenham can do to easily get him to switch to either clubs is for them to offer him a three-year contract with £120,000 per-week deal – which are what Chelsea has failed to offer him.
The consequences
If such a deal scale through and Willian leaves for either Arsenal or Tottenham, it means that Lampard will have to rely mostly on his youngsters. The club might not be able to replace Willian with a payer at his level since Chelsea might want to save cost in this summer transfer window due to the coronavirus pandemic which has paralysed football in England since March 13.
Besides that, if Willian should leave Chelsea for Tottenham, a club which is being managed by a former coach of the club Jose Mourinho, the banter will be on the fans of Chelsea who always sing about how Willian dumped Tottenham for Chelsea.
