Blues fan favourite Willian is now fighting for his future at Chelsea as manager Antonio Conte is planning to reshuffle the squad in the summer.
The Brazilian star had displayed incredible form last season and had guided Chelsea to a respectable finish with his sensational skills and goals – when other Blues stars failed to match the standards at Stamford Bridge. He had also earned the club’s player of the year award last term.
However, it is understood that Chelsea would be willing to offload the Brazilian if they get a tempting offer in the summer as Conte is now keen on evolving the squad to make it one of the most powerful units in Europe and also in the Premier League.
After Conte’s arrival at Chelsea last summer, Willian has been reduced to more of a fringe player and especially after the resurgence of the former Barcelona man Pedro.
Willian has only earned 19 games for Chelsea this season but has managed to equal his last serason’s tally of 11 goals.
It is believed that Willian is not willing to part ways with the Blues but sources close th club revealed that Brazilian will rethink about his Chelsea future only after the season nears completion – when he could end up winning two titles – Premier League and the FA Cup.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has now asked for a £200million summer transfer budget as they are now set to return to Champions League, according to FootTheBall sources.
After taking charge at Stamford Bridge in the summer Antonio Conte has found the perfect balance with his 3-4-3 formation and has guided Chelsea to the top of the Premier League table and into the final of FA Cup.
However, it has not stopped the Italian from searching the market for more reinforcements ahead of their Champions League return next season.
And he also has a lot of cash in the bank after selling Oscar for £50m in the January transfer window.
He is now keen on roping in West Ham’s superstar winger Michail Antonio.
Antonio plays in the same position as Willian and being an English winger, he has drawn the attention of the Chelsea hierarchy, who now want to boost their homegrown contingent.
Willian played a pivotal role in rescuing Chelsea during a disastrous campaign last season under former boss Mourinho. At a point it appeared that the Blues would get relegated but the Brazilian inspired a comeback and guided them to a respectable finish – which saw him earning both the fans’ and players’ player of the year.
But Willian was left out of the starting X1 to face Southampton last week having got Chelsea on the way to the FA Cup Final by scoring the opening goal against Tottenham in the semi final just three days earlier.