Shakhtar Donetsk playmaker Willian has admitted that he would be delighted to make a move to Chelsea before the end of the January transfer window, Sky Sports reports. The Blues have been scouting the Brazilian all season and have had a £16.5m bid rejected by the Ukrainian club.
The 23 year old has a release clause of £29m, but if Chelsea make an offer of around £20m, they are expected to be able to sign Willian. Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas is looking to sign a creative player to replace Frank Lampard, whose future with the club is up in the air. Willian is interested in a move to the Premier League and has praised Chelsea, especially with his Brazilian international teammates David Luiz & Ramires.
Willian said: ‘I wouldn’t have any fears about coming to England because I have played against English sides in the Champions League and studied the English game. To play in a league that is seen throughout the world would be good for my hopes of playing regularly for Brazil, especially with the World Cup at home in two years’ time. I’ve played for a great club in Corinthians and been successful. I moved to Shakhtar and that turned into a great move too. If the next step of the adventure is England, then I would be excited by that.’
Chelsea have also been interested in Sao Paulo midfielder Lucas, but the Brazilian has a £60m release clause in his contract and it looks like a deal is a non-starter. Villas-Boas takes his Blues to Loftus Road in a huge fourth round FA Cup tie against QPR on Saturday and will be looking to have deals done before next week’s clash with Swansea.
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