Chelsea FC, along with the rest of most global football, are off indefinitely, so let’s do some transfer talk instead. If there’s one thing that can survive a global pandemic, it’s transfer rumors.
We begin with the latest on the Willian transfer saga. The soon to be out of contract Chelsea winger is wanted by several teams, including both clubs that comprise the north London derby. According to a report from the Daily Star, Tottenham are leading the chase right now.
That makes sense, given how the Brazilian has great relationship with Jose Mourinho, from their times together at Chelsea.
It would make sense that he might be looking for a reunion. To the Lane and Back has more at this link.
Of course, there is going to be a lot of competition from outside the Premier League too, as FC Barcelona, not to mention Paris Saint-Germain, are also keen.
For the next item, we flash back instead of looking forward. Back in 2008, Robinho snubbed a move to Chelsea and instead transferred to Manchester City for a £32.5 million transfer fee. That was a British record back then…while today the sum seems downright cute.
Now 36 and playing in Turkey with Istanbul Basaksehir, the 36-year-old explains his decision.
“My goal was to go to Chelsea. But Real Madrid ended badly with them,” he told Marca.
“They didn’t like Chelsea selling shirts with my name on them before the deal was concluded. I don’t regret leaving Madrid. But I’m sorry I made a mistake with them when I left.”
“Madrid was the club that opened my doors and offered me the opportunity to conquer Europe. I lacked the maturity and the ability to stop, think with a mind and consider the consequences before making decisions. Only age and experience can give you this.”
Yep it’s a classic example of “youth being wasted on the young,” or “If I only knew then, what I knew now.”
We stick with the Real Madrid theme for our final item. Los Blancos full-back Achraf Hakimi is currently on loan with Borussia Dortmund, but he’s in no hurry to sort out his future right now.
Several clubs including Chelsea and Arsenal, are reportedly interested in his signature.
We Ain’t Got No History, SB Nation’s Chelsea community, has more on this over here.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link