Barcelona are not giving up on their pursuit of Willian and are reportedly keen on signing the Chelsea star on a free transfer when his contract expires next summer.
The Spanish giants have long admired the Brazilian playmaker and failed with a £40million bid to bring him to the Nou Camp in the most recent transfer window.
However Barca boss Ernesto Valverde remains keen to bolster his attacking options, having allowed Philippe Coutinho to join Bayern Munich on loan in the summer, and Willian is at the top of his wishlist.
It is believed the Nou Camp giants even attempted to sign him in 2013 before he joined Chelsea but Mundo Deportivo has now reported that he could indeed become a Barca player seven years later.
Willian, 31, sees his current Blues contract expire at the end of this season and the Premier League giants rarely hand out long-term contracts to players over the age of 30.
That leaves the Brazil superstar with a decision to make and he may well opt for a fresh start after six years in west London which has seen him win two Premier League titles.
Whether the Blues will want to part ways with their midfield maestro remains to be seen, though, with Willian featuring seven times under Frank Lampard this season.
He remains an integral part of the first-team set-up at Stamford Bridge and notched his first goal of the season in the 2-0 win over Brighton last weekend.
And Blues boss Lampard recently heaped praise on his experienced talisman, believing he can be a role model for youngsters coming through including Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
He said: “Everyone’s drawn to that conversation about the young players, but they will always need that experienced player around them.
“You talk about Willian, who was not only creating chances for himself in getting his goal, but his work ethic was fantastic.
"Those are the standards, the experienced players can set those standards and the youngsters must follow.”
