Willian is one of three Chelsea players who will contest a final for his country on Sunday. Once he returns to Stamford Bridge, his contract situation will be on the club’s “to do soon” list.
Willian’s five appearances in the 2019 Copa America do not add up to a complete game, but he did not need much time to score one of the goals of the tournament in the group stage against Peru. Brazil and Peru will meet again in Sunday’s final, and while Willian is unlikely to start, he has been given more time on the pitch in each successive game. Chelsea’s longest-serving winger played the entire second half of the contentious semifinal against Argentina, and could see a similar outing in the final.
Willian will return to Stamford Bridge with many things unsettled. He is entering the final year of his contract and will turn 31 just before the season starts. Chelsea broke precedent to give David Luiz a two-year extension, and Willian plays a position with far less depth in the squad. But with the emphasis on youth players via the academy and loan army, the Blues may be willing to lose Willian on a free transfer next summer rather than keep him around for two additional years.
Willian will also face new competition in the squad. For much of his time in Blue, he and Pedro took turns on the opposite side of Eden Hazard. However, Hazard is now gone. Callum Hudson-Odoi is injured and Christian Pulisic is much less two-sided than Willian.
Until Hudson-Odoi and, possibly, Ruben Loftus-Cheek return, Willian will not have much competition as the starting left wing. Within a few months, though, Willian will have to fight harder than ever against his teammates and the years to find his place in the squad. Instead of battling Pedro for the right wing, he will be in a intrasquad battle royale to play on either side.
Willian will also have to adjust to another manager. Willian (or his daughter – details are sketchy at best) showed gratuitous disrespect to Antonio Conte after Chelsea won the FA Cup in 2017/18. The Brazilian then bought whole-heartedly into the #fun of Maurizio Sarri’s first few weeks in charge, which garnered Sarri’s favour for the entire season. Willian, like Luiz, kept up the stream of vapid praise for Sarri, and Sarri responded predictably well to his sycophancy.
Willian and Frank Lampard played one season together at Chelsea. He assisted on Lampard’s goal in a Champions League group stage match.
One would think a player as experienced as Willian would have no trouble adjusting to the new relationship: a former teammate and peer now the manager, particularly since Lampard seems so much the relationship-based manager as opposed to a taskmaster or other overt authority figure.
Then again, one would think a grown man would not put emojis over his boss on a picture he shared on social media.
Willian still has much to contribute to Chelsea, especially given the age gap among the wingers: he and Pedro in their 30s, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi 20 and 18, respectively. Willian knows the Premier League and European competition inside and out, and his playing style complements both of the younger men.
But that does not mean Chelsea necessarily will need him much beyond this season, especially if he becomes a fracture point in the locker room. By next summer, Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi will be familiar with the range of Chelsea’s competitions. Frank Lampard may end up repurposing Ruben Loftus-Cheek or Ross Barkely as wingers (inverted or otherwise), or may take Chelsea towards a winger-less set-up like a 3-5-2. The Blues will also be able to buy replacements next season, using the money from Eden Hazard’s sale and any others they conduct this summer.
Chelsea paid just over £30 million for Willian in 2013. By just about every measure, they made back their investment on him. If they let his contract expire after one more season as a senior utility winger, they will not rue a missed opportunity.
If they extend Willian a year, it could still be with an eye to let him leave next summer, but in a way that brings in a bit of money.
Willian does not seem to be pushing very hard (at least not publicly) for a two-year contract, despite the David Luiz precedent. In fact, not much has come out about him seeking an extension at the end of this season.
That could be for the best, as it will allow the club and the player to ease their way into their respective futures. The Blues have options in-house, and if they want to keep one winger with a load of experience, Pedro has a much cleaner personnel file than his Brazilian counterpart. And if Chelsea do decide mid-season they need Willian for 2020/21, he will be in a better position for it.