Chelsea’s deal to sign Hakim Ziyech has not affected Willian’s future at the club with both parties keen to agree a new contract.
Chelsea surprised many in the media over the past few days by completing an early deal to bring Ziyech to the premier League next season for a small fee of £37 million, with many believing that he is the immediate replacement for the ageing Willian, who has been linked with a move away from the club.
There has been talk that he could be leaving at the end of the season as reports in the media have suggested that Chelsea may not be willing to offer him a new contract because of his age, and may be willing to let him leave the club on a free transfer, with the likes of Juventus and Barcelona eyeing up a possible deal
But despite his impending arrival in the summer, The Independent states the transfer will not impact Willian, and that Chelsea and the stars representatives are still in talks to try and agree a deal that would allow him to stay at the club for the next few years.
But there is an however, with reports claiming the veteran wants a three-year package, while Chelsea famously are reluctant to offer more than a 12-month extension to players in their thirties. Willian recently admitted his desire to stay with the club: ‘Everyone knows how I love this club and how I enjoy to play for Chelsea. If I can, I will stay here until I am 40 years old but football is not always like this,’ he told Sky Sports.
‘[I want to stay] because I like to play here. It’s not only my decision, we have to decide together with the club. We’ve had some conversations. ‘I hope I can say to you guys that I will stay but now I cannot say.’ There are many out there that wrote Chelsea off at the beginning of the season as they lost star man Eden Hazard, lost their Europa League title winning coach Maurizio Sarri to Juventus and were unable to sign any players during the transfer window.
But if Willian, and the rest of the side, can keep up their good form and exciting football then Chelsea may indeed be able to add some more trophies to the cabinet as one thing they have proved over the years, is that they can never be written off. So Chelsea need to get Willian signed up to a new deal, as they need to keep their best players while also bringing in a few new faces, that is how teams progress and gets better.