🇧🇷 Willian

[dee25 1,044]

Yes it was his first season last year, but did he ever really show what he could be capable of?

Schurrle showed in the Fulham game exactly what we could expect when he's settled (and against Stoke too). Hazard showed in his first season how great he could be too (the West Ham match springs to mind). Even Oscar showed on his debut against Juventus exactly what he was all about.

To my mind Willian still hasn't done that. He's a tidy player but he really needs to actually start giving an end product.

Uh uh. So Schurrle's hat trick is an indication of what he could be capable of but Willian's goals against Stoke, Norwich and Saints doesn't offer a glimpse of what he could offer once he settles?

[The only place to be 11,313]

I've seen enough of him at Shakhtar to tell his end product, while could still be better, is nowhere near as bad as we saw last season.

A valid point that the others have shown more glimpses of what's to come if things go according to plan but I think Willian is also capable of great things and there is a reason why a bunch of clubs were willing to pay £30m for him last year. Coming into a new club and country is no easy task for a foreigner, especially for one who didn't speak English at the time, but he has already shown he's capable of adapting to living in countries like Ukraine and Russia which for a Brazilian are surely harder places to fit in than London so the mental strength should be there somewhere and hopefully by the start of the season he's fully ready for the challenges that lie ahead. If not, then there's always Schürrle who will definitely be a hit this year.

Who was the other club willing to spend £30 million on him? Spurs? So in their view he was on par with Lamela? I'm not saying he's that bad, but using the market to determine a player's quality sometimes has it's pitfalls.

Willian looks like an incredibly tidy player but it's just the end product that he's lacking. Schurrle got double the number of goals in fewer starts and offensively you can see how he'd link up with a proper striker next season. He has that innate knack of being in the right place to get goals and I'd bet on him to get into double figures next season whereas from Willian you're looking at him being at best a facilitator.

It's just sometimes hard to believe he's actually going to be 26 before the season starts and that we spent around £30 million on him. I think it's sometimes overlooked just how bad a bit of business that might actually be.

[Fernando 6,585]

Who was the other club willing to spend £30 million on him? Spurs? So in their view he was on par with Lamela? I'm not saying he's that bad, but using the market to determine a player's quality sometimes has it's pitfalls.

Willian looks like an incredibly tidy player but it's just the end product that he's lacking. Schurrle got double the number of goals in fewer starts and offensively you can see how he'd link up with a proper striker next season. He has that innate knack of being in the right place to get goals and I'd bet on him to get into double figures next season whereas from Willian you're looking at him being at best a facilitator.

It's just sometimes hard to believe he's actually going to be 26 before the season starts and that we spent around £30 million on him. I think it's sometimes overlooked just how bad a bit of business that might actually be.

Well I don't put it as bad business like Torres, just an unnecessary at the time.

But now with Mata and KDB gone, it seems like to me he's the best we got to bring a nice balance.

Cause Schurrle is still very inconsistent. He remains a super sub until otherwise proven.

Salah, no need to say.

And Oscar....well I don't know that will happen to the guy.

Also worth noting that last season he didn't even have any pre-season with the team, having only arrived in late August when the season had already begun.

I remain confident he'll make a much bigger impact this coming season, same goes for Schürrle too.

No Pre-season excuse again?

That's what all the Torres fan boy threw at us.

Not to say I don't think he will come good, but I don't like this excuse.

[Jype 6,398]

No Pre-season excuse again?

That's what all the Torres fan boy threw at us.

Not to say I don't think he will come good, but I don't like this excuse.

I think it's more than fair that we as fans give Willian the benefit of the doubt for his somewhat disappointing debut season and only judge him now that he's fully settled in the country, the league and most importantly the team. He has lived in London for a year and gotten to know what it's like playing in the Premier League so he SHOULD now be more ready to make an impact than he was last season. Players are different, some of them settle in immediately like Mata three years ago or Matic this January but then there are also those who require the learning curve like Ramires, Oscar, Schürrle, Salah and maybe Willian too. Hell, Ivanovic didn't play a game for the club until almost a year after signing for £10m and look how far he's come now. Some players don't know the language and maybe get homesick while others, even some of the ones I just mentioned, have been very surprised at just how tough the PL actually is and they've had to do some extra individual training to bulk up and get better prepared to playing in England so I don't think it's fair to judge anyone too harsh after just one season. However if there's no improvement to be seen this year, all bets are off and there's no excuses anymore so fair criticism is very much okay if these boys still don't perform.

Torres was a player who'd already played in the PL for three and a half years at the time of the transfer and was supposedly a world class player, so at least for me the expectations were a lot higher from the start. It's players like Torres that are supposed to hit the ground running but for younger and more unproven players, especially those who come from different leagues and maybe don't know the language I like to allow a year-long adaption period before starting to really forge an opinion on whether I think they're good enough to play for the club.

[lionsden 4,689]

While i appreciate his ability to retain possession, we are not Barcelona who emphasizes tiki taka above all else. His main objective is/and should be to create and score and it's impossible to achieve being passive. He will have to shake off his mikelitis and be much more aggressive and direct next season.

As much stick as people gave Moses, that kid was direct and aggressive, it just a shame he is very limited.

[Amblève. 4,995]

It's just sometimes hard to believe he's actually going to be 26 before the season starts and that we spent around £30 million on him. I think it's sometimes overlooked just how bad a bit of business that might actually be.

It was a bad business from the get-go. We had already signed Schürrle and if the initial plan was to sign a left-footed player to play on the right wing aka what Mourinho told us in the pre-season then Willian was more than just redundant.

Willian is in his prime and at a price of 30m we spent unnecessary money on a player that will most likely never justify such a fee. Such a shame about the money, really.

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

As much as I agree with the thing about a lack of end product, hes coming into his second season where he will get a full pre-season. He still did well, in terms of adapting and consistency, he needs more goals and assists though that will come. Maybe 30M was a bit much, remember Anzhi, although they sold their big money and name players, were financially safe at that point still, also they paid more than 30M for him too IIRC.

[Jase 43,479]

To those who said Willian will be getting a full pre-season or even just pre-season this time, do you realize that by the time he returns from his break, the season will be starting already? Spain got knocked out in the group stage at the end of last month, or more specifically, 23rd June and the Spanish lads will only be back on 21st July.

[Vybz Kartel 1,613]

His average, not a 30 million player, had we paid around 15-20 I would not hv any problem but for 30 million I expect Hazard level, look at the players in that price range Sanchez, Hazard, Gotze, Fabregas, Di Maria, Isco just to name a few, Willian is certainly not in that bracket, it was a bad bit of business on our end considering he was not a top priority and we over paid by at least 10 million. This is not to say his a decent player, he is, its just that he is not good enough for the stupid price tag we bough him 4.

[Amblève. 4,995]

As much as I agree with the thing about a lack of end product, hes coming into his second season where he will get a full pre-season. He still did well, in terms of adapting and consistency, he needs more goals and assists though that will come. Maybe 30M was a bit much, remember Anzhi, although they sold their big money and name players, were financially safe at that point still, also they paid more than 30M for him too IIRC.

Looking at his career stats, I don't have any hopes his end product will change dramatically. His assist and goal scoring numbers are that poor.

[Shakez 755]

To those who said Willian will be getting a full pre-season or even just pre-season this time, do you realize that by the time he returns from his break, the season will be starting already? Spain got knocked out in the group stage at the end of last month, or more specifically, 23rd June and the Spanish lads will only be back on 21st July.

Pre-season isn't that important when he already played a full year at the club. This time though he is fairly established and has to defend his spot (against Schürrle and Salah) instead of fighting himself into the team like he had to do last year.

[The only place to be 11,313]

While i appreciate his ability to retain possession, we are not Barcelona who emphasizes tiki taka above all else. His main objective is/and should be to create and score and it's impossible to achieve being passive. He will have to shake off his mikelitis and be much more aggressive and direct next season.

As much stick as people gave Moses, that kid was direct and aggressive, it just a shame he is very limited.

Willian managed 4 goals and 4 assists last season (whilst being on corner duty as well).

Moses managed 10 goals and 5 assists in less minutes.

[Shakez 755]

Willian managed 4 goals and 4 assists last season (whilst being on corner duty as well).

Moses managed 10 goals and 5 assists in less minutes.

*6 assists.

+ Moses was a year long benchwarmer for Liverpool.

[didierforever 7,349]

when is he coming back??

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

Looking at his career stats, I don't have any hopes his end product will change dramatically. His assist and goal scoring numbers are that poor.

He is what he is and that player has value on a Mourinho team. It's too bad his transfer fee was so absurd because it makes us want more than he can deliver. He's a hard-worker with great energy and he can create space with his pace and movement but he isn't much offensively. He plays with his head down, makes some strange decisions, hold on to the ball FOREVER instead of moving it quickly, and has a poor final product. (He's scored 44 goals in 317 career games, the vast majority of those games in a poor Ukranian league).

[The Chels 2,502]

when is he coming back??

Jose said the Brazilians and Schurrle will be back next Monday.

[Shakez 755]

Jose said the Brazilians and Schurrle will be back next Monday.

That's pretty fast, then the Real Sociedad game will be crucial to see if they are fit enough for Burnley.

[romeeh 139]

He is what he is and that player has value on a Mourinho team. It's too bad his transfer fee was so absurd because it makes us want more than he can deliver. He's a hard-worker with great energy and he can create space with his pace and movement but he isn't much offensively. He plays with his head down, makes some strange decisions, hold on to the ball FOREVER instead of moving it quickly, and has a poor final product. (He's scored 44 goals in 317 career games, the vast majority of those games in a poor Ukranian league).

lol salah scored 56 goals in 143 career games and he cost 11 mil,he got higher will to score than willian and even to be creative with his pace although he still need more experince but he just turned 22 years amonth ago, willian just too much energy makes him looks good but keeping the ball on same line and he is 26 years with only 44 goals in 317 career games and cost 30 mil...Lame!,if u asked me who i start with hazard i say shurrle or salah not willian.

[stroey 2,525]

lol salah scored 56 goals in 143 career games and he cost 11 mil,he got higher will to score than willian and even to be creative with his pace although he still need more experince but he just turned 22 years amonth ago, willian just too much energy makes him looks good but keeping the ball on same line and he is 26 years with only 44 goals in 317 career games and cost 30 mil...Lame!,if u asked me who i start with hazard i say shurrle or salah not willian.

Goals aren't everything. Willian keeps posssesion very well and has created the most chances after Hazard last season. Willian is also the one who sets up many attacks like Iniesta does (pre-assists). He's also very strong and better dribbler than Schurrle, Salah and Oscar. Willian contributes a lot to this team, also defensively. I agree he has to be more direct and effective in attacks but it doesn't mean he's bad.

Costa

Schurrle Hazard Willian

Matic Cesc

This is my favorite line up for next season.

[romeeh 139]

Goals aren't everything. Willian keeps posssesion very well and has created the most chances after Hazard last season. Willian is also the one who sets up many attacks like Iniesta does (pre-assists). He's also very strong and better dribbler than Schurrle, Salah and Oscar. Willian contributes a lot to this team, also defensively. I agree he has to be more direct and effective in attacks but it doesn't mean he's bad.

Costa

Schurrle Hazard Willian

Matic Cesc

This is my favorite line up for next season.

are u joking??!! willian better dribbler than them??? plz go check match states about sucess dribbing of each player , u will find salah was highest dribbler after hazard it was hazard>salah>shurrle>oscar>willian...the more funny thing u saying he like iniesta i guess u watching someonelse, the only thing he good at is that he very active(highly fit) moving the ball around him alot but still on same line which not go forward