Willian: The facts

Willian: The facts

Chelsea swooped in to complete the signing of highly-rated Brazilian Willian at the expense of Tottenham, who had gone as far as completing a medical for the attacking midfielder before losing out to their local rivals. Willian arrived in London with much expected of him, but what do we actually know about the £30m superstar?

Well for a start, his full name is Willian Borges da Silva and he has signed a five-year contract with the Blues, but he was close to signing for both Tottenham and Liverpool just this year. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers spoke very highly of Willian, saying:

“It’s disappointing because this was a player who would have been perfect for us. We expect to be the best we can possibly be, but that means getting the best players" (1) which shows the difference Rodgers believes Willian would have made for his team this season.

He started his career at Brazilian club Corinthians, playing for the first team in the 2006/07 season and caught the attention of quite a few scouts during his time there, but really established himself on the world stage during his time at Shaktar Donetsk where he won numerous titles including the league, the Ukrainian cup and the Super League in 2010-11, as well as winning a domestic double in the next season. He should fit in well with the Chelsea squad as they do seem to have a strong winning mentality, even more so under the leadership of Jose Mourinho.

Willian earned his big money move, but some were surprised at the destination, as he joined Anzhi Makhachkala instead of one of the many top European clubs that coveted the midfielder at the time, with Arsenal (2) amongst others reportedly interested in the Brazilian in 2011.

The well documented 'financial restructuring' taking place at Anzhi this season meant that the whole club were up for sale, including their star midfielder, which left the door open for Chelsea to steal a march on Tottenham by wrapping up the deal last week. The former Anzhi manager Rene Meulensteen was another to praise Willian, saying; 

"He's very versatile, he can play in different positions, he's a very creative player and an excellent professional with a very good personality. He can beat a player, he can score a goal. I thought he was an absolute delight to work with." (3)

So it seems despite the controversy surrounding the circumstances of his transfer, he isn't a very controversial character and he seems eager to impress at Chelsea. In an interview with the Chelsea website after his signing, he said;

"I've always been following Chelsea and every time I came to London I would try to see a Chelsea game and see how the team was doing because it's been my dream to come to play here." (4) although players do tend to talk up any affinity they hold with new clubs and he may have said the same thing had he signed for Spurs.

He joins a packed Chelsea midfield and may find it harder to get playing time than his ex-Anzhi teammate Samuel Eto, who is joined the club last night, most probably ending their pursuit of Wayne Rooney. Willian has Juan Mata, Eden Hazard and Andre Schurrle to compete with to play on the left and Chelsea have even more strength further up the pitch in attacking midfield positions, so they may have to let somebody go to accommodate their new signing.

 Big things are expected of Willian and if he's given the chance, he could make the difference as the Blues battle for multiple titles during the season, but he'll have to work hard to become one of Mourinho's 'untouchables' and he faces stiff competition from the current squad.