Willian has said his contract negotiations are at an impasse. It is a situation that echoes and, in a way, was caused by David Luiz when he was at Chelsea.
Chelsea broke their long standing rule of only offering one year contracts to players over 30 for none other than David Luiz. Why the club thought that was a good idea remains a mystery, even more so considering he almost immediately decided fighting for playing time was not his jam as he carted off to Arsenal.
Unfortunately, that story did not stop with Luiz. With the rule now broken, any player over 30 could feel safe asking for more than a one year extension. In fact, they could demand it. But now it is seemingly going another step further.
Willian is 31 and his contract runs out in the summer. But two years is not enough for him to extend. This particular Brazilian is looking to set his own precedent by asking for three. Say thanks Luiz.
In fairness, Willian could at least justify a two year extension far more than Luiz ever could. Despite what the boo boys say, Willian is frequently one of Chelsea’s better performers even if it does not always reflect on to a stats sheet.
It would also make some sense to keep Willian around longer than just one season. Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi are good but still growing. That more seasoned voice is needed in the locker room too, and Chelsea is unlikely to go out and get that in the wing position.
But three years? Bad enough Luiz broke the precedent that saw Frank Lampard, John Terry, and Didier Drogba out the door. Now Willian wants to blast it away entirely.
If Chelsea agrees to three years, they will be stuck with a player who will soon hit the wall most players hit around 32 or 33. While it could be justifiable to keep him around for more than one season, by that point Chelsea needs to be preparing to replace Willian entirely. Instead, they would likely have to find a spot for him for another year.
That was basically the impetus for the one year contract rule to begin with. At some point, that player will hit their wall. Better to have them with only a season left than two or three and have to find room or a buyer.
Simply put, no matter what Willian offers the team, he simply does not offer enough overall to justify a full three years at this point. Now maybe he accepts the two years now and manages to do well enough to earn that third year as its own one year extension. That would be fine.
But there is always the chance he gets a year into a three year contract and the wall comes. Now Chelsea has him for two more years stopping new signings that could help the club more.
Willian is a good player and has been a fine servant to the club. But he should not get more than Luiz got and Luiz got way more than he deserved. Two years or no deal.