Here come the Willian rumors, regular as clockwork. Are you a big-name player at a big-name team who is not getting first-team minutes? Don't fret; the rumor mill will make headlines out of you sooner or later!
EXCLUSIVE: Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho plots £25m move for Chelsea star Willian @TonyBanksXP #mufc #CFChttps://t.co/M7XIY1kvkf pic.twitter.com/TmY4qMSHOf
— Express Sport (@DExpress_Sport) November 24, 2016
The "EXCLUSIVE" in both the Express and the Star claims that while Willian just signed a brand new four-year contract in July, Jose Mourinho's new team are ready to test the waters in January with a £25m bid for a player who's supposedly rated around £40m.
In the sense that Willian has barely played in the last couple months — for reasons that were largely beyond his control, it should be said — these rumors do make some sense. In the sense of the financial situation, in the sense of Willian's commitment to the team — in August, after signing his contract, he claimed "I am Chelsea forever" — in the sense of his importance to the team, it does not.
In football, nothing can ever be truly ruled out of course (the likes of Schürrle or Ramires, more recently left without too much serious prior indication), but I think we can be fairly confident in saying that Willian's not going anywhere for a while. He may not be a starter at the moment, but that's probably not a permanent situation.