Last week’s focus was all about Chelsea’s sudden and intense interest in Estevao Willian, the sensation Brazilian wonderkid making waves for Palmeiras.
Things went a little quiet over the weekend, with Chelsea’s game against Nottingham Forest taking centre stage. But things are moving again this week with a report from Goal.com with some big claims about the move.
They claim to have exclusive information about the move, with the information that Chelsea’s offer will be €65m, making it the biggest transfer in Brazilian football history, breaking that same club’s sale of striker Endrick to Real Madrid agreed last year.
The deal would be divided up, with a large chunk coming in the form of bonuses and add ons, but nevertheless it would be the biggest Brazilian sale ever. 17 year old Willian is as highly regarded as any player coming from the continent in some years, but it’s still a colossal gamble.
A move making more and more sense
We don’t want to get too in depth on the potential positives and negatives of this move yet because it hasn’t happened yet, and there will be plenty of time to debate it in the months and years to come.
But the interesting report from David Ornstein at the weekend that Chelsea won’t need to sell before they buy has made this deal make a lot more sense. We wouldn’t be at all behind the idea if it meant compromising our attempts to improve the team this summer.
But if we can afford to agree a deal for Willian now while still keeping enough liquidity to buy players – and, importantly, not have to sell players – we’re all in favour. He looks like a next level talent without doubt. That record breaking price doesn’t come from nowhere.
