Goals 21, Age 25, Have Chelsea Done A Good Business Paying £32m For Him?

Willian had a work permit issue which restricted the Brazilian from coming to England. Due to his lack of involvement with the international team his application was rejected. The procedure after rejection is that the representatives of Willian or the respective Club can appeal under the section which would convince the panel that the player’s transfer would be of benefit to the game in the relevant country. Cut it short, Chelsea brought Willian to England under the “exceptional talent” visa clause. Exceptional he is, and how can Chelsea fans forget the clash between Shakhtar at Stamford Bridge (those 2 important away goals) in the UCL.

Apparently it was to the north of Stamford Bridge where all of the action was taking place. Tottenham Hotspur did almost everything, from flying him to London to conducting his medicals. However thanks to Mr. Roman Abramovich’s connection in Russia with Anzhi’s Russian owner, Chelsea managed to capture Willian from under the nose of Spurs for £32m. There’s no doubt that Sir Alex Ferguson would’ve been skeptical about ‘£32m for a 25 year old’ though.

 So what does the 5ft. 8in youngster has in store for Chelsea and how will he fit in? So first things first, Willian is a Brazilian. Didn’t you hear me? Yes, He is a Brazilian. He has that wonderful pace, master of trickery and swiftly dribbles his way through defenders.  Willian played under a 4-2-3-1 system in Shakhtar Donetsk where he was deployed as the left winger which is his preferred position. This allows him to get forward and cut in and be on his right foot. However, though he isn’t a finisher. Yes, running forward and cutting inside he most probably will look for an assist rather than shooting it.

He isn’t a goal scorer but the Brazilian can play in any of the three attacking positions behind the striker. Dynamism is what he gives Chelsea by constantly switching flanks. With his immense amount of work rate he often drops behind to provide support for the full backs for defending, something Mourinho would appreciate from his creative players. His pace also becomes vital in quick counter attacks. Chelsea’s two time Player of the Year Juan Mata has been burdened with most of the goal scoring opportunities. The arrival of Willian on the left /right and with Mata plays the No. 10 role behind the lone striker would be a support to Mata and create good amount of goal scoring chances for Chelsea.

A regular place in Chelsea’s starting line-up would also ensure Willian a call from Luiz Felipe Scolari. On the whole Chelsea have a great depth in their squad and offers a plethora of attacking options. With David Luiz, Ramires, Oscar and now Willian, will Chelsea do the samba? Over to you ‘The Happy One’.