Willian urges patience with Lampard, wants to stay at Chelsea

Brazilian winger Willian is one of Chelsea’s most experienced players, having called Stamford Bridge home since 2013. In the six years since, he’s certainly seen plenty of ups and down, successes and failures, change ... and more change. The one thing that has remained constant is change.

And while Chelsea have also managed to maintain the winning modern tradition at the club, a bit of stability at the head coaching position probably wouldn’t go amiss, especially as we embark on this homegrown youth revolution. Willian may not be around to see the end of this cycle, but he’s still hopeful that Lampard is given time to accomplish what we set out to do.

“Lampard was one of the best players at Chelsea and one of the best players in Europe. The fans love him and he knows the club very well. I think now it’s time to give more time to him. I’ve been at Chelsea six years and I’ve had five different managers already!

“Maybe now it’s time to give more time like Manchester City do, like Liverpool do, three or four years. That could be very important.”

Willian’s own future is shrouded in almost as much mystery. During the summer, rumours that he was negotiating a new contract with Chelsea were confirmed by Lampard, but so far, no deal has been reached. As it stands, the 31-year-old will be out of contract at the end of the season.

But Willian isn’t too worried about that for the moment. While he would like to stay at the club, just as he’s always stated, he’s now just concentrating on the football and helping the team to the best of his abilities.

“From my side, I want to stay here. I know I only have one year left but I feel good playing for Chelsea. I like playing for Chelsea. I have the affection with everybody, the fans, the people that work at the club.

“Maybe this will be at the end of the season. Now is not the time to think about it. I just want to play my football and to help the team this season.”

-Willian; Source: Sky Sports

Willian’s first start of the season on Saturday, after recovering from an offseason hamstring problem, certainly made it clear that he’s far from done and far from being an important contributor. Singled out for post-match praise by Lampard, if he keeps performing at the same level, he may yet be around to see Chelsea’s youth project come to fruition.