Chelsea head coach Maurizio Sarri admitted he is not happy with Willian and plans to hold talks with the star attacker about his delayed return to Stamford Bridge.
Willian has been linked with Manchester United and Real Madrid, and his Chelsea future was thrown into more doubt when the Brazil international failed to report for pre-season training on time.
An expired passport was reportedly behind Willian’s delayed return to London, though Sarri conceded he found the situation “strange”.
“I want to speak to him before I answer these questions. I want to speak to him,” Sarri told reporters after Chelsea lost to Arsenal 6-5 on penalties following Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at the International Champions Cup in Dublin.
“I am not happy about this situation but before I answer, I would like to speak to him.”Willian is not the only Chelsea player to be linked with a move away as doubts remain over team-mates Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois.
Hazard and Courtois have both attracted interest from European champions Madrid.
Asked for an update on the trio, Sarri replied: “Not at this moment, no, because I will see them on Saturday for the first time. I don’t know the situation in this moment. There is no news.
“We are talking about top players. Every club wants to keep their top players and we are trying to do it.” A fast, agile, hard-working and technically gifted player, Willian is known for his quick feet, acceleration, and explosive style of play, which allows him to dribble past opponents at speed whilst keeping close control of the ball; in typical Brazilian style, he has also been known to pull off feints and tricks, such as the elastico, in order to confuse and beat defenders.
He primarily plays as a winger or as an attacking midfielder, and his high stamina, vision and creativity enables him to link-up play between the deeper midfielders and the forwards, and create goalscoring chances.During the 2015–16 season, while at Chelsea, he showed his prowess at direct free-kicks, with almost all his goals coming from set pieces. He improved the statistics of his attacking game, which led many to call him Chelsea’s top performer of the season.
Willian is married to Vanessa Martins. They have twin daughters, Valentina and Manuella. Like many Brazilian footballers, Willian is a devout Christian.
On 13 October 2016, Willian’s mother, Borges, died at the age of 57. During the game against the Premier League champions, Leicester City, his teammates Diego Costa and Eden Hazard dedicated their goals to Willian and his mother. Along with his teammates, his manager, Antonio Conte also dedicated their victory to Willian and his family.