Barcelona have rekindled their interest in Chelsea winger Willian, who is entering the last 12 months of his contract at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have already rejected bids in the region of £35 million from Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, as per Sky Sports.
The West London club rejected the Azulgrana three times last summer, and again in January transfer window, and are themselves working on a new deal for the Brazilian to avoid the possibility of losing him as a free agent next summer.
Having said that, negotiations seem to have hit a roadblock as Chelsea are willing to offer Willian only a one-year extension, contrary to the player’s demands of a two-year deal.
Willian, who lifted the Europa League with Chelsea in May, scored eight goals and assisted 14 times in 56 appearances in all competitions this past season.
Should Barcelona better their offer for Willian?
The Blues have already seen the departures of their talisman Eden Hazard and Europa League-winning manager Maurizio Sarri amidst a transfer ban likely to be upheld.
Barcelona will have to offer more than £35 million if they are to force Chelsea into letting the Brazilian leave, as he has been at Stamford Bridge for a while, and would be too valuable a player to lose, keeping the transfer ban in mind.
Willian, who made the move from Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala to Stamford Bridge back in the summer of 2013, and has been a key player for the club in his six-year stay at the club so far.
It’s pretty well-known that if Spanish giants Real Madrid or Barcelona come calling, they usually get the player.
The bigger question which arises here is, do the Catalan club actually need to move in for the Chelsea veteran who has already started showing signs of decline?
Barcelona already have a plethora of forwards in Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele, Malcom, Philippe Coutinho and possibly Antoine Griezmann, as the Atletico Madrid star is poised to sign for a move.
Barcelona also have an ageing squad as the likes of Messi, Suarez, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic, and Gerard Pique being 30 years of age or more.
Some pundits and fans have already highlighted this as one of the main reasons for their drab end to last season, as they went from potentially winning the treble to just retaining the Primera Liga title. And Willian’s potential arrival won’t add exactly add more youthful zeal to the squad.
Any progressive club must think to phase out all those who are ageing, and plan a smooth transition going into the future. But adding more 30-year olds to the dressing room doesn’t seem right or rather looks like a short-term plan.
Taking all these factors into consideration, spending a big sum of money on Willian doesn’t sound wise or a step in the right direction.
Stat Courtesy: Transfermarkt
