Chelsea FC should do their best to get rid of Willian following his indecent behavior at the end of the season. Manchester United looked to be their only option. Then Barcelona entered the race as well, and Chelsea are completely lost.
Willian is 29 years old and has not locked down a place in Chelsea’s starting XI in several years. He is probably worth somewhere between £28-35 million. For all his unbelievable ability as a free-kick taker and work rate, he has several deficiencies. Most had been easy to look over until the end of the season, when he chose to light his own Chelsea future on fire with his Instagram.
Luck would have it, however, that Chelsea were provided an out by Manchester United and their ever-hilariously poor negotiating chairman Ed Woodward (he of Mino Raiola-enriching fame). Still, Chelsea held onto Willian because they did not want to strengthen a rival. Perhaps the still stinging burn of the Nemanja Matic move helped with this.
Then came a blessing. Barcelona entered the race and provided Chelsea with a simple alternative. They offered the Blues £55 million for the childish chappy and everything seemed perfect. Chelsea were about to turn a profit on a player they should be getting rid of while opening a spot in the side for another addition or youth player.
Then Chelsea turned it down.
It didn’t make any sense, but nothing was really all that lost.
Perhaps this hardball tactic will work in the end, and this slightly contrived and bitter article will have been an unnecessary exercise. But it’s also possible that in all this ridiculous penny-wise pound-stupid behavior Chelsea not only failed to sell a player they’d best be rid of while not making a profit, they also in fact missed out on one of the best targets they could have had.
Enter Malcom.
Bordeaux’s Brazilian was one of the best attackers in Europe last year. He created 87 chances, far more than any other under-23 player in Europe’s top five leagues. He would have been a direct replacement for Willian, and was available for roughly £35-40 million. Malcom is a star who would have appealed to Eden Hazard while lessening the creative burden on Hazard and the rest of the team.
Instead, Chelsea has apparently burned Barcelona enough the blaugrana have smartened up and opened their eyes to the better player in Malcolm. Now they are trying to hijack his move to Roma.
Chelsea very easily could have had Malcolm and £15 million to spare. Instead, they still have a player whose idea of an appropriate celebratory social media post was to humiliate himself (though that may not have even occurred to him yet), his club and his manager all at once.
Truly, wonderful business being done here.
Malcolm was and has been my favorite attacker for Chelsea to add this summer. He’s a truly perfect addition. He adds pace, trickery, flair and dynamism that has long been lacking from the right flank. He is a goal threat as well as creative in his assists. This would aid Hazard’s workload if he stays, and lessen the impact if he leaves.
If Hazard left, Malcom would be a good partner for Hudson-Odoi to learn from on the opposite flank. Add to all that how much a better deal Malcom is than Christia Pulisic or Leon Bailey, not to mention a perfect fit for the style of football Maurizio Sarri is trying to implement. This is deeply frustrating.
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Chelsea are the gang who can’t shoot straight at the moment. They can’t even recognize when a good things hit them in the face. Things like this wash away all the potential for positivity that Maurizio Sarri and this latest new era should bring. In its place are painful reminders of the last one.
Ugh.