Nothing new on the Willian front

Despite his clear reservations about football in a pandemic, Willian returned to Chelsea training this week, alongside the rest of the squad sans N’Golo Kanté and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

As he’s stated repeatedly in the last couple months, the 31-year-old Willian is more than willing to honor and play out his Chelsea contract even through these unprecedented times, and he’s even willing to sign the temporary extension if and when the season drags on past June 30 (despite that potentially putting him at risk of injury).

That last bit is confirmed by a report from The Athletic yesterday, as well as subsequent reporting from Goal, the Mail, and others. Those reports also bring up some of the aforementioned quotes, though those are now actually almost three months old.

But beyond that, his future remains uncertain. In fact, nothing’s changed at all regarding his contract situation, with neither he nor the club budging on their demands. He still wants three years, and Chelsea are willing to go no higher than two. Unlike fellow veterans Willy Caballero and Olivier Giroud, no contract extension appears forthcoming for Willian.

So it goes. Fare thee well, Gorgeous Willian Borges.