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Chelsea manager Frank Lampard wants the club of offer Brazilian winger Willian a new contract.
The 31 year old is out of contract at Stamford Bridge next summer, which means that he is free to start negotiations with clubs from abroad in January. However, a player who was in and out of the side under Antonio Conté and Maurizio Sarri has enjoyed a renaissance under Lampard, and has become one of the first names on the Chelsea team sheet each week.
Lampard said “I can’t get involved in the money, that’s up to the club, but I think everyone sees from what I’m saying, and I’m relying on him and picking him and he’s producing, I love him at this football club.”
Willian and Lampard played together in the manager’s last season at the club as a player, and the 41-year old values the Brazilian international not just for what he can achieve on the pitch, but also for the positive influence that he has on the club’s younger players. He has provided three goals and three assists this season, including the flick that set up Tammy Abraham for Chelsea’s first goal against Crystal Palace on the weekend.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.