Chelsea
announced on Sunday that they have reached an agreement to sign
Brazilian attacking midfielder Willian from Russian side Anzhi
Makhachkala, subject to the granting of a work permit.
His arrival will further swell the
number of attacking midfielders at manager Jose Mourinho’s disposal,
with Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Oscar, Victor Moses, Kevin De Bruyne and
Schuerrle already competing for just three starting places.
The arrival of the Brazilian has turned
analysts’ focus on Moses as the most likely to be hit by the addition.
Soon after Chelsea announced the deal on Sunday, British media
highlighted Moses as the lowest in the pecking order of the supporting
strikers who could go on loan when the mid-season transfer window opens
in January. The predictions are coming despite Mourinho’s pre-season
remark on the Super Eagles attacker. The Chelsea boss had said during
the tour of the USA that Moses was doing very well with the team.
He said, “Moses has been very terrific.”
There was an initial loan bid from Everton for Moses which Chelsea turned down in June.
The acquisition of Willain by the
Stamford Bridge team comes as a surprise. The 25-year-old had been set
to join Tottenham Hotspur, having undergone a medical at the north
London club earlier last week, only for Chelsea to hijack the deal.
British media reports claim Chelsea will pay a fee of around £30m to secure his services.
“Chelsea Football Club can confirm an
agreement has been reached with both Willian and his club Anzhi
Makhachkala for the transfer of the Brazilian player,” read a statement
on the Chelsea website.
“The transfer is subject to a work permit hearing on Wednesday.”
Willian will be the fourth player to
join Chelsea during the current transfer window, following Australian
goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, Dutch midfielder Marco van Ginkel and Germany
international Andre Schuerrle.
Willian only joined Anzhi from Ukrainian
side Shakhtar Donetsk in January, but he is being moved on after the
Russian side’s billionaire owner Suleiman Kerimov decided to restructure
the club and drastically shrink their budget.
Mourinho said he felt no sympathy for Spurs despite swiping the player from beneath their noses.
“That’s the danger of medicals before contracts. But you have to do the medical before,” he said.
“The best thing to do is the medical in
secret. If the player is fine, you can sign him. If he’s not, you don’t
have to destroy his career. Sometimes there are sources who find out
everything.”
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