Willian again denies Mourinho chats

Willian would like you very much to know that he’s been in zero contact with José Mourinho. That’s zero as in zero as in none as in not at all. His evidence may be unconvincing, but his word is bond.

“It’s funny because [...] when you come from outside the country, you have to be in isolation. You have to be quarantined. So to this day, I’m still not leaving home. And when I saw that news, I was surprised.

“I said ‘where did people get this from?’ Because I didn’t even talk to him on the phone, and I didn’t meet him either, because I didn’t leave the house. So this news is not really true. I didn’t meet him. Of course I have a good friendship with him, sometimes we chat. But really, lately I haven’t had any contact with Mourinho.”

Deny it all he wants, the stories linking him with Tottenham won’t stop until he signs a new contract with another team, possibly London-based but maybe not. His Chelsea contract, which is likely to be extended temporarily beyond June 30 to help us finish out the season, is still set to expire afterwards. If he is to stay in London, a reunion with Mourinho wouldn’t be the strangest outcome.

But speaking of playing again, Willian remains less enthused about that than most.

“Honestly, what I see is that many players, I think the majority, they’re not comfortable with playing at the moment. We know, we really want to go back, we really miss playing, doing what we like to do. But we have to return safely, this is our thinking. I think health comes first. So players at the moment are not comfortable coming back, until there is security.”

-Willian; source: Globo via Sport Witness

Willian may claim the majority, but most reports and others like Tammy Abraham, claim the majority for those who want to play again. Either way, that’s not going to happen until all the required protocols are in place — whether we think that will protect the players adequately is another story of course.

Willian, like the other six Chelsea players returning from lockdown overseas, will be eligible to come out of quarantine on Monday and will presumably begin (individual) training at Cobham shortly thereafter.