As this transfer saga grows increasingly complicated, will Chelsea get their man?

Things change quickly in the footballing world, especially during transfer season. With the stream of players that the top clubs are linked to, you’d be excused for a failure to keep track. Especially when Managers are so willing to play fast and loose with the truth in order to get what they need.

After all, who can forget Andre Villas-Boas’ response to the speculation that linked his Chelsea side to Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian frontman Willian? He told the Press:

“Willian is a very interesting player, but he is cup tied in the Champions League. I don’t think we should go for players who cannot be involved in all the competitions. We are not stressed regarding what we can do in this transfer window. If a good opportunity arises, we could study it, but at the moment, we are very satisfied.”

And I suppose that should have been the end of it. That was until Shakhtar Donestsk’s CEO Sergei Palkin told Sky Sports that Chelsea had made an official bid for Willian:

“We have received a bid from Chelsea for Willian valued at €20million [£16.7m], but he is not for sale.”

That raises a couple of questions. Why did Chelsea go in so low and why did AVB claim there was no interest in the first place? Andre no doubt opted to keep the Blues pursual of Willian under the radar, because transfers tend to go much smoother without the media sniffing around. Unfortunately for Chelsea, Sky and Palkin seem intent on making the whole saga public.

As for Willian’s valuation, Palkin has told the Daily Mail that the Blues would not have to meet the £29m release clause written into his contract:

“We have no burning desire to sell the player, but in football some things are impossible to avoid. If it weren’t for our good relationship with Chelsea – and Willian does not hide his intention to test himself in one of the best clubs in the English Premier League – we would insist on the 29m pounds release clause written into the player’s contract.”

It seems that Shakhtar value Willian at somewhere between Chelsea’s miserly first bid and the amount stated in his release clause. So should the Blues try again and bid around £22-24m?

In my opinion, yes. He’s fast, creative, unpredictable and able to shoot from outside the box. He’s the type of player that could help Torres start scoring again and he’s not as overpriced as many other options out there in the transfer market. At 23-years-old, he’d make a great investment.

I for one, hope that Chelsea step their bid up.

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