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Chelsea FC Transfer Rumours: Willian Bid Rejected

Avatar_tiny by Graham MacAree on in Chelsea FC: Transfer Rumours & News

What you can't see from this picture is that Willian's been holding Dani Alves off the ground like this for the whole match.

Some fun news coming out of Shakhtar Donetsk today regarding potential Chelsea transfer target Willian. According to the Ukrainians, the Blues have made a move for the Brazilian wideman, lodging a €20M bid that's been rejected:

We have received a bid from Chelsea for Willian valued at €20million, but he is not for sale.

-Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin. Source: Sky Sports News.

It's a story that's rather at odds with the Telegraph's assertion that Chelsea have not lodged a bid and that Shakhtar have assured Chelsea that £16.7M (i.e. €20M) will get the job done, but since we've got a direct quote from Palkin in the Sky Sports article we should probably trust that one.

Anyway, there's enough buzz running around this rumour to make it pretty obvious that there's a real interest in bringing Willian in, and the shape of the rumours and quotes to date means I'm inclined to believe that Willian is indeed for sale and that Chelsea and Shakhtar aren't that far off an agreement. We're probably not going to hit his buyout clause (which has been reported at 'more than £25M' by the Telegraph, which is another knock against them because it's actually £29M), but I wouldn't be surprised at this point if a second bid of around £20M is offered and accepted.

Then again I thought Javier Pastore was a lock for Chelsea so it's entirely possible that I'm just not very good at this rumour-interpreting business.

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Which is the biggest reason I want nothing to do with him.

Willian is a typo waiting to happen.: )

Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!

by Kevin Kostka on Jan 24, 2012 12:18 AM GMT up reply actions  

If I'm gonna be labeled a troll

I might as well, right? Just a little bit. :cD

by Sabrina Dessipe on Jan 24, 2012 12:26 AM GMT up reply actions  

At least I picked a cute troll

Some of the ones google pops up would have been less flattering

by Stephen Schmidt on Jan 24, 2012 12:37 AM GMT up reply actions  

Nice picture!

Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!

by Kevin Kostka on Jan 24, 2012 12:36 AM GMT up reply actions  

Thank God

I rather have Hazard coming in the summer than some overrated Brazilian who is not even better than Kalou.

by The Bison on Jan 24, 2012 12:41 AM GMT reply actions  

I've watched all of Shakhtar's Champions League games but none of his domestic games

I am baffled as to the hatred you’re exhibiting. What do you know here that I don’t?

by Graham MacAree on Jan 24, 2012 12:55 AM GMT up reply actions  

Extremely average player.

I haven’t seen anything that warrants his price tag. Extremely overrated and overpriced.

by The Bison on Jan 24, 2012 1:01 AM GMT up reply actions  

ROFL

I hadn’t seen that in a while. Good times!

by DPeezy on Jan 24, 2012 4:39 AM GMT up reply actions  

Good ol' times

*sigh

Tor ilisar'thera'nal!

by Maiev on Jan 24, 2012 10:59 AM GMT up reply actions  

It's certainly fair to prefer Hazard to Willian

I do as well at the moment. To say Willian isn’t an upgrade to Kalou is kind of ridiculous though.

by Stephen Schmidt on Jan 24, 2012 1:02 AM GMT up reply actions   1 recs

Hazard is %100 better than Willian, i pray non of our league rivals brings dis guy in if we dont. He is a killer combo of skills Ronaldo and Messi

by yusfaith007 on Jan 24, 2012 12:47 AM GMT via mobile reply actions  

This is a crazy exaggeration of how good Hazard is

An excellent player, yes. Comparable to Ronaldo and Messi? Not a chance.

by Graham MacAree on Jan 24, 2012 12:52 AM GMT up reply actions  

Going to post these stats again...

Player A:
85.9% pass completion rate
1.3 successful crosses per game
1.6 key passes per game
2.5 successful long balls per game
0.2 successful through balls per game

Player B:
81.7% pass completion rate
0.8 successful crosses per game
1.9 key passes per game
2.3 successful long balls per game
0.3 successful through balls per game

Which player would you rather have based on that alone?

by Stephen Schmidt on Jan 24, 2012 12:57 AM GMT up reply actions  

And yes, stats can be misleading sometimes

Player A’s sample is based on 16 games of CL data. Player B is based on 6 CL games and some lower level domestic data.

by Stephen Schmidt on Jan 24, 2012 12:58 AM GMT up reply actions  

Stephen, Croatia passed a referendum as part of joining the E.U. today.

They’re going to be E.U. members from 1 July 2013. That’s got to change the Delac situation, right?

Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!

by Kevin Kostka on Jan 24, 2012 12:51 AM GMT reply actions  

Yes it does

Unfortunately that happens when Delac is within a year of his contract expiring, but it guarantees he’ll get some time here. Hopefully he’ll be granted a work permit next summer because he’s under contract until June 2014 anyway.

by Stephen Schmidt on Jan 24, 2012 12:54 AM GMT up reply actions  

Is he a likely future backup to Courtois?

[I’m just assuming Courtois will be better.]

Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!

by Kevin Kostka on Jan 24, 2012 12:56 AM GMT up reply actions  

lol Courtois is going to be much better

I’ve seen all of his games at Atletico and his last game for genk. He single handedly won the championship for Genk. He is going to be an amazing keeper.

by The Bison on Jan 24, 2012 12:58 AM GMT up reply actions  

No

Only in compilations.

by The Bison on Jan 24, 2012 1:04 AM GMT up reply actions  

While I agree that Courtois should be very good going forward

I don’t want to write off Delac yet. He’s was very highly touted as well before the transfer but has been handled poorly due to a lack of a work permit. At one point he was considered the top U18 keeper in Europe. He may be a real sleeper once he gets some playing time…that’s usually the big thing holding keepers back.

by Stephen Schmidt on Jan 24, 2012 1:08 AM GMT up reply actions  

I have high hopes for Blackman as well

With three solid young keepers we ought to be fine in the long run. 2 of the 3 will be homegrown as well.

by Stephen Schmidt on Jan 24, 2012 1:25 AM GMT up reply actions  

We have a lot of really young talent with a high chance of failure

We don’t have too many midfielders close that I think will stick, and outside Lukaku our attacker situation is a bunch of youngins (and the enigma that is Kakuta)

by Stephen Schmidt on Jan 24, 2012 1:38 AM GMT up reply actions  

Of course, but it's not nearly as bad as a lot people think.

I’d say there a large chance of getting three to five in the next five years. That’s a good return for anyone, and with EPPP, it’s going to get better.

Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!

by Kevin Kostka on Jan 24, 2012 1:42 AM GMT up reply actions  

Talking about young attackers

I think Lalkovic could actually be a good player for us if he makes the step up to first team later…

by Avinash Mohan on Jan 24, 2012 5:54 AM GMT via mobile up reply actions  

Then finally

we can get rid of Hilario,worst keeper ever, and I would say Turnbull will leave too!

by conorjmartin on Jan 24, 2012 1:13 PM GMT up reply actions  

The thing about Delac

is that he couldn’t get a start for Vitesse Arnhem when he was loaned out. And even now at SK Dynamo České. He is a talent for sure. I’ve heard Christophe Lollichon talk about him being a great talent.

But at his current age (19) he is nowhere near how good Courtois was at that age. Courtois was the most important player in the Genk side that won the championship. He was THE REASON Genk won that season. Courtois got himself starts in the 10/11 season because their first choice keeper: Köteles (first choice keeper) got injured. He was a very good goalkeeper but Courtois made sure that he would be a first team player when Köteles came back from injury. Everyone was shocked how good Courtois was, no one even heard of him outside of Genk.

I was amazed how concentrated he was at the final game where he made save after save. He is incredibly composed for such a young player and reminds me of young Petr Cech when he was at Rennes. The people in Belgium are allready talking about him being a better keeper in the future than Preud’homme and Jean-Marie Pfaff. I am normally someone who doesn’t like to hype young players, but I think Courtois is the real deal. He could seriously challange Cech for a starting place right now.

by The Bison on Jan 24, 2012 1:26 AM GMT up reply actions  

They're like three months apart in age.

Courtois in an early bloomer, and Delac is a late one.

Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!

by Kevin Kostka on Jan 24, 2012 1:31 AM GMT up reply actions  

Courtois was 17 when he started the 10/11 season (turned 18). He was allready looking like a champ, while Delac still has troubles breaking into the first team of SK Dynamo České at the age of 19.

I just think Courtois is a much bigger talent than Delac. Even though I haven’t seen much of the young croatian. And an early bloomer usually means he won’t improve much in the future, which I disagree with especially with goalkeepres. Even Petr Cech, today, is learning more and more. There is a reason goalkeepers have a very long career. They learn things even at 35.

I will go as far as saying that Courtois will be our #1 keeper in the 2013/2014 season (when Cech will be at his prime).

by The Bison on Jan 24, 2012 1:42 AM GMT up reply actions  

With Courtois, I meant that he's going to be a good keeper well before...

…the average keeper, and even further ahead of Delac. I wouldn’t be surprised if Courtois hits the top of his game by 23, like Petr Cech, whereas Delac will probably be 27. Courtois is probably the better prospect for that reason, but Delac might end up having the longer career. Think Cech v. van der Sar. Cech has been one of the elite keepers from an early age, whereas VDS was good, but only became elite later in his career. It’s not a great example, but it’s roughly the same.

Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!

by Kevin Kostka on Jan 24, 2012 1:57 AM GMT up reply actions  

Mind you, terrible example

Van der Sar was world class for almost 20+ seasons, starting in the early ’90s with Ajax.

by DPeezy on Jan 24, 2012 2:23 AM GMT up reply actions  

And honestly a lot of times..

…the older the keeper the better. As they take a lot longer to ‘ripen’ that say a outfield player.

Follow me on twitter@PrixFixeOnline
Staff writer for Managing Madrid & Sounder At Heart

by Timm Higgins on Jan 24, 2012 2:41 AM GMT up reply actions  

OK...I deserved that..

But I hope you get my point. I looked at keepers the way I look at pitchers. There’s not such thing as a pitching prospect. I tend (to a point) believe the same thing with keepers.

Follow me on twitter@PrixFixeOnline
Staff writer for Managing Madrid & Sounder At Heart

by Timm Higgins on Jan 24, 2012 2:49 AM GMT up reply actions  

I imagine...say..

…rotten cabbage or moldy socks?

Follow me on twitter@PrixFixeOnline
Staff writer for Managing Madrid & Sounder At Heart

by Timm Higgins on Jan 24, 2012 5:10 AM GMT up reply actions  

Is that then also the reason

why we waited for Hilario for so long?

Tor ilisar'thera'nal!

by Maiev on Jan 24, 2012 11:05 AM GMT up reply actions  

I used him mainly as an example of a keeper whose...

…career trajectory was flatter. He was good, even very good, early, but he wasn’t great until the second half of his career. I even admitted it was a terrible example, but some keepers are better as they age, and I think Delac is going to be good later than Courtois, but will probably have a longer career.

Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!

by Kevin Kostka on Jan 24, 2012 2:51 AM GMT up reply actions  

I would argue that "most" keepers get better as they age

But how early they fulfill their potential has very little bearing on how long of a career they will have.

by DPeezy on Jan 24, 2012 3:35 AM GMT up reply actions  

Most get better as they age, but some...

…improve more than others. Some mature early, and improve more slowly after, and others take more time to mature, and improve more quickly.

Author and Official Fernando Torres Apologist for We Ain't Got No History!

by Kevin Kostka on Jan 24, 2012 3:40 AM GMT up reply actions  

We don't really know how good Delac is right now

Remember that Courtois only got his shot because of an injury. Had their #1 not gone down in a pre-season friendly with a long term injury the club had no plans to start Courtois. They were even supposedly shopping for a keeper when the injury happened. Delac was Inter Zapresic’s 1st choice keeper at the age of 16 and was massively impressive. He just hasn’t been able to unseat a starter on loan, but Courtois was never faced with that either. Most managers are pretty reluctant to mess with the keeper situation unless injury or poor performance force them to.

by Stephen Schmidt on Jan 24, 2012 1:36 AM GMT up reply actions  

Willian will be great

Has the ability to stretch the defense and create something by driving to the endline. Something that could help during those games when the other team puts 11 behind the ball.

by Dlewis on Jan 24, 2012 2:28 AM GMT via mobile reply actions  

Am I the only one wondering why we aren't going after keisuke honda?

It seems like he would be a decent option for a creative center midfielder. Perhaps I’m missing something?

by unbigote on Jan 24, 2012 2:33 AM GMT reply actions  

Its incredible how the world of sports goes completely against the economy

Every year prices rise for footballers and to be honest i feel like an old man with 5 cents i just cant get used to these prices for some reason. I think we should look for a cheaper option or another option that can play cl, not necessarily for winning it but for rest purposes also. Im tired of the portos, benficas, and now the shaktars of the world.

Where is the meatloaf?

by Habana on Jan 24, 2012 3:47 AM GMT reply actions  

I would rather prefer Shaqiri

He is rumored to be leaving for 10-15mil so I really think he would be cheaper and hence would be a better buy.

by Archit Arya on Jan 24, 2012 6:22 AM GMT reply actions  

I second that!

The guy has everything and is both cheaper and younger and probably already a better player! I watched last summers u21’s and he completely outshone Mata in that tournament, only Thiago Alcantara played better in that tournament. He alos did a number on Utd a few months back and is proven at both full international and Champions league level. I think he could be every bit as good as Hazard!

by conorjmartin on Jan 24, 2012 1:37 PM GMT up reply actions  

Pastore

MInd you we all thought Pastore was a done deal, but then we discovered third party ownership, and maybe wisely opted out, PSG are being taken to court now http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/sep/14/chelsea-juan-mata-javier-pastore?CMP=twt_gu
It’s a shame because he is probably even better than Mata (we could have had both I guess, Mata is less expensive too)
As for Willian, it would be a very exciting signing. let’s hope this one does go through

by CFCdiscussions on Jan 24, 2012 7:57 AM GMT reply actions  

I sincerely doubt that Pastore is better than Mata

But he’s pretty good, I’m just of the opinion that Mata is better as if he was at PSG playing in Ligue 1 rather than the toughest league in the world, and we had Pastore, we would be crying at missing the opportunity to sign Mata.

by GianfrancoZola on Jan 25, 2012 2:51 PM GMT up reply actions  

I like the sound of Wiilian

I have a lot of trust in Andre’s choices of players. His versatility means we wouldn’t be ruling out a go for Hazard in the summer and his age would mean unless he is terrible (which I doubt) he keeps his resale value. Remember smaller clubs are able to spend £20-25 mil on a player they know to be good. Aston Villa bought Darren Bent for £24 mil last year for example.

I think we stand to lose very little in this and we could always change back to our 4-3-3 in the CL. Even though the CL isn’t my first priority we’d be able to handle most teams with our current line up. An added player in the league would be very useful especially if Willian becomes as good as we hope.

by Famouscfc on Jan 24, 2012 9:41 AM GMT reply actions  

Pray For Bobby

Our All time highest scorer Bobby Tambling is sick in hospital , I would just like to wish him well , Get well soon Bobby!

by ankurbhattcfc on Jan 24, 2012 1:49 PM GMT reply actions  

interesting tidbit on the soccernet 'on the move' blog this morning

13.45 GMT Kevin de Bruyne’s on-off-on-off-on-off move from Genk to Chelsea is back on again, according to Belgian newspaper Het Belang van Limburg. Talks to sign the 20-year-old winger in an £8 million deal are ‘approaching conclusion’.

by marc.nicholls1 on Jan 24, 2012 2:49 PM GMT reply actions  

Squad needs refreshing

Call it what you want; tired legs, stagnation, getting used to a new system, whatever but our squad, barring a few (who happen to be new additions, less than two years with us) all seem lethargic to me, so I would welcome any new additions to our squad. To put it a little clearer to some of us here, how many would have been excited about the prospect of a Croat coming to our team for 14 million pounds back in 2008, I’d hazard a guess as to none, fast forward 3 years and we’re bidding 40 million pounds for that player, and having that bid refused. You can never tell about players until they’re in your team. Even elevating some of our youth players/reserve players to first team status would be acceptable as long as there’s some freshness in the squad.

by GianfrancoZola on Jan 25, 2012 1:19 PM GMT reply actions  

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