Footie Central | Football Blog Blogging the football world
Barcelona are close to agreeing a deal to sign Brazilian winger Willian when his contract expires with Chelsea at the end of the season.
The 31 year old is free now to begin negotiations with foreign clubs, and, having been linked with the Catalans for some time, they are ready to sign a pre-contract agreement with the player.
Chelsea had been hoping to entice Willian to sign a new deal at the club, and refused to let him leave Stamford Bridge in the January window, but he has refused, wanting a change of scene, and now it looks like his seven year stay in West London will soon be coming to an end.
Capped 70 times for Brazil, Willian joined Chelsea in 2013 from the Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala, and has gone on to make 323 appearances for them in all competitions, scoring 57 times.
Since his time with then he has won the Premier League twice, the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the UEFA League.
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.