Arsenal
have made a formal three-year contract offer to Willian, edging them to the
front of the race to sign the Brazilian forward.
Joining Mikel Arteta's rejuvenated side and the chance to work with fellow
Brazilian Edu are the reasons Arsenal are favourites to secure Willian's
signature. The Gunners have made a formal three-year contract offer to
Willian, still some way short of the terms offered by Barcelona and Inter
Miami.
Despite wanting the 31-year-old to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge,
Chelsea have refused to offer more than a further two years - and the
chances of him being a Chelsea player when the new season begins in five
weeks now look remote.
Frank Lampard has admitted his side need to improve defensively, but that
Chelsea would need to sell before they can buy, having already spent big in
the attacking areas by bringing in Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
Willian made 47 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions and finished the
season in fine form with four Premier League goals after the restart.
'Willian wants one last big deal'
"Willian wants one big final contract - ideally a three-year deal to take
him to 35. Chelsea would like to keep him, though they're not going to offer
him three years.
"At the moment it looks like Arsenal is his most likely destination but he
is a free agent and at his age, realistically, you're likely to go where
there is the most money and longest contract on offer.
"He's got a great injury record so his agent will be saying, 'Don't worry
about his fitness'."
Chelsea open to offers for third of
first-team squad
Chelsea are willing to listen to offers for up to 10 first-team players,
including goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, Jorginho and centre-back trio
Antonio Rudiger, Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christiansen.
Frank Lampard has admitted his side need to improve defensively, but that
Chelsea would need to sell before they can buy, having already spent big in
the attacking areas by bringing in Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech.
Emerson, Jorginho, Victor Moses, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater and
Michy Batshuayi are among a long list of players Chelsea would also be
willing to offload.
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