Shakhtar Donetsk winger Willian could be making his way to Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala for a reported £34 million, according to Sky Sports News and newspapers such as The Metro but I reckon it’s more €35 million and the media have muddled their exchange rates.
Anyway, the Brazilian has been linked with Chelsea for an extended period and also London rivals Tottenham but it seems as though the duo are set to miss out to the Russian club as the Blues had previously after being so heavily linked with former Porto attacker Hulk, who joined Zenit St Petersburg in the summer.
Willian caught the eye of many Chelsea fans for his part in Shakhtar’s route into the final 16 in the UEFA Champions League. He scored a brace against the Blues at Stamford Bridge and another double against Danish side Nordsjaelland.
The 24-year-old had expressed a desire to play in the Premier League and spoke well of both the Blues and the Spuds (I’m guessing he was Andre Villas-Boas’s target whilst at Chelsea hence their interest in him) but it seems as though his future now lies in Russia with Anzhi despite the talk of the move collapsing, it’s certainly one to keep an eye on this transfer deadline day.
Personally I’m not too disappointed that we won’t see Willian in a Chelsea shirt as he’d be coming at a high price and we have the likes of Kevin De Bruyne to come back to the club in the summer and the Belgian could fill one of the three spots behind the forward alongside Juan Mata and Eden Hazard. I don’t see us making a big move in the next few hours, so we’ll have to wait until the end of the season before we see any new faces at Stamford Bridge.
It would seem as though neither of the Premier League outfits would be willing to match Shakhtar’s valuation of the player but will Chelsea rue missing out on Willian or is he just far too expensive? – Have your say in the comments section below
