Jose Mourinho may have given up on trying to corrupt Juan Mata, and is now targeting the other most pleasant person in the Premier League. Chelsea should protect Willian from his machinations, not that the Brazilian would be interested in going.
Alongside Common Goal, perhaps the greatest testament to Juan Mata’s character is how he is still a humble and warm individual despite spending multiple seasons with Jose Mourinho. Add in how Mourinho cast him out from Chelsea, tailed him to Manchester United and then welcomed him into an otherwise dystopian side, and Mata is standing by for canonization.
A smattering of rumours have Mourinho ready to replace Juan Mata with Willian. Mourinho tried to bring Willian to United along with Nemanja Matic last summer, but Willian had no interest. Mourinho’s persistence for players he wants lends credence to the rumours. But as far as anyone can tell, this round started with The Sun, which means the story is going nowhere and neither is Willian.
Willian does not play a similar role to Juan Mata, other than both being right-wingers. Mata’s main value is in passing and playmaking. Particularly with a target man like Romelu Lukaku, United need Mata to swing in crosses and deft passes towards the striker. They would lose the medium-range playmaking by swapping Mata for Willian.
Willian could be a solid counterpart to Alexis Sanchez on the left. If Mourinho allowed his attackers to flow with the attack, Willian’s relationship with Sanchez would be similar to what he has now with Eden Hazard.
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But that is a big “if.” Willian is willing to put in the work on defence and drop deep behind the ball as necessary. He showed what he can do dropping into midfield last season when he would shift Chelsea to a 3-5-2 in transition to defence. Mourinho may see Willian as a better counter-attacker than Juan Mata, enabling United to play an even more defend-deep-and-counterattack system than they currently are. However, this further flies in the face of Manchester United’s ingrained style of play, both in the culture of the team and the club as a whole. Any benefit he gained from Willian would be offset by further marginalizing Sanchez.
All these points are moot, though. Even with Chelsea dropping out of the Champions League next season and Manchester United finishing second, Willian has little motivation to reunite with Mourinho. Alexis Sanchez’s disconnection from the tactics should tell Willian everything he needs to know about what life would be like at Old Trafford.
Even so, Chelsea should take steps to protect their investment in Willian. He has two more years remaining on his contract. When it expires, Willian will be 31: age enough for Roman Abramovich to put him out to pasture if a plan is not already in place.
Willian has been Chelsea’s most consistent player over the last three seasons. He was by far the best and most reliable player in 2015/16. Last season his quality was undiminished, simply overshadowed by those around him. The second half of this season has once again thrust him into the spotlight as Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata receded into goal-scoring droughts and motivational slumps.
The Blues should offer Willian a path that would allow him to finish his career at Stamford Bridge. He still has a few years left at his current performance levels before he reaches the age where he cannot play every game at top speed. Chelsea should recognize his value to the club and the locker room by developing a role for him when that happens. Willian would be one of the best mentors and unofficial captains for young players and new arrivals.
Willian may also choose to continue his career as a 40-game-per-season player. He could easily find a strong club in Serie A to play a few more years, or follow some countrymen and former teammates to the Chinese Super League.
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Whatever Willian decides, Chelsea’s priority should be letting Willian decide. If they do that, they have little to worry about him choosing Manchester United.