New Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri says that he is “not happy” about the delayed arrival of Willian from his post World Cup holiday. The Italian says that he’ll be holding talks (which have been described by several media outlets as “crunch talks”) with the winger who didn’t report to the club until six days after had been expected.
The Brazilian, who has been with the club for five seasons, but has been linked with potential moves to Barcelona, Manchester United and Real Madrid this summer, trained by himself at Cobham yesterday, six days after his arrival had been anticipated.
Willian was on an extended post-World Cup break, and it was reportedly an expired passport that kept him from re-joining the team, a situation that Sarri described as “strange.”
“I want to speak to him before I answer these questions. I want to speak to him. I am not happy about this situation but before I answer, I would like to speak to him,” Sarri told reporters las night after Chelsea lost to Arsenal 6-5 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw at the International Champions Cup in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
Asked if he found Willian’s reason for returning late strange, Sarri replied: “I think so.”
The summer transfer window closes a week from today, so if Willian is to leave, Chelsea don’t have much time to line up a suitable replacement. He can however still be sold up up until August 31.
Willian also now faces a delayed re-integration back into the side, who face Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday.
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