Willian’s future as a Chelsea player is in the balance with the Brazilian’s contract at Stamford Bridge set to expire at the end of the season. Recent reports state the winger has rejected the offer of a two-year extension and so the prospect that he will leave the club for free edges ever closer.
Chelsea find themselves in the midst of a generation transition with Frank Lampard bringing through a number of the club’s academy graduates this season. But what if the Blues don’t know what they’ve got until it’s gone? Here are five reasons Chelsea will miss Willian if he leaves.
His experience
As already referenced, Lampard has enjoyed success in bringing through the likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Reece James, Fikayo Tomori and Billy Gilmour, but Chelsea still have their sights set on challenging for honours and to do that it’s likely they will need some experienced heads in the dressing room.
In Willian they have a two-time Premier League champion, FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League winner who has performed at the elite level of the European and international game for a decade.
Lampard might be focused on the future, with some justification, but he will need figures like the Brazilian to carry Chelsea into a new era.
The balance he brings
Chelsea signed Christian Pulisic last summer to be the long term successor to Eden Hazard with the American enjoying a relatively successful first season at Stamford Bridge. Callum Hudson-Odoi’s season, however, has been severely disrupted by injury, with the Englishman only recently making a full recovery.
This has left the Blues somewhat light on the right side of the attacking line, meaning Willian has played more frequently than he might have envisaged.
The signing of Hakim Ziyech will help address this deficiency, but Chelsea are still a lopsided team. This will be further accentuated by the expected exit of Pedro at the end of the season.
His versatility
Willian can play all the way across the attacking line. Indeed, the Brazilian has played on the left and the right for Chelsea this season, even deployed through the middle on occasion.
While Lampard might see Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi as his first choice wide men in the long term, with Ziyech also arriving from Ajax this summer, but the Blues need depth and Willian provides that in a number of positions.
What’s more, the 31-year-old is productive regardless of where he plays. He has scored five times and contributed five assists in 28 Premier League appearances this season, also notching in the Champions League and FA Cup. Finding a replacement who can cover so many bases so effectively will prove difficult.
His goal threat
Abraham has performed beyond all expectations as Chelsea’s first choice centre forward this season, but Lampard has made clear his dissatisfaction at what he sees as a dearth of attacking options.
Willian is the sort of player who eases the goalscoring burden on his teammates, carrying a genuine goal threat from the edge of the box and even further out.
The 31-year-old has found the back of the net 33 times since 2013 for the Blues. He is capable of breaking open a game with a moment of brilliance. Willian is, by trade, a difference maker. Even if it’s only off the bench, the Brazilian should be kept around as a wildcard of sorts. There will be times when Lampard needs a player like him.
Chelsea have something their rivals want
While Willian is often a target for his own supporters, the Brazilian is highly regarded within the game.
The 31-year-old has been a very public transfer target for Barcelona in recent years with Manchester United also reported to be among the winger’s suitors when Jose Mourinho was at the club.
Now with Mourinho at Tottenham Hotspur they too are reportedly interested in Willian. Liverpool have even been mentioned as potential suitors. Chelsea have something that their rivals want. There is good reason for that and they would be foolish to let him slip through their fingers.
