Chelsea Football Club have today confirmed that their Brazilian forward Willian has signed a new four-year contract with the West London club.
The 27-year old was signed from the Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala for £32 million in August 2013 and has so far made 140 appearances for the Blues, scoring 19 goals. He has put pen to paper on a deal that commits him to the club until 2020.
The talented forward was voted as Chelsea’s player of the year for the 2015-2016 season by both supporters and his fellow players. He arrived a Stamford Bridge in the same summer as José Mourinho began his second spell in charge of the club. Under the management of the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ he went on to win the Premier League and the League Cup in only his second season in England. Now he’ll be hoping that he can add to his trophy haul.
He told the club’s official website, “I’m very happy to sign a new contract with Chelsea. It’s a dream to continue with this club and over the next four years I will try to help the team win more trophies. It’s been an amazing time for me since I joined the club three years ago, I’ve won titles and last season I was named Chelsea Player of the Year. I hope to be able to stay at that level during the coming seasons and achieve more success”.
Chelsea’s technical director, Michael Emenalo, was delighted to get Willian’s long-term future sorted out this summer. He said, “We are very pleased to agree a new long-term deal with Willian who has proved himself to be an important player for the team since he arrived here”.
Emenalo also hinted that new Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was a big part of the reason why Willian has agreed to the new deal. He said, “We are looking forward to seeing his continued impact as we begin an exciting new campaign under first-team head coach Antonio Conte”.
Last season was Willian’s most successful for the London club, with the forward scoring 13 goals in 59 appearances, firstly under José Mourinho and then under the management of Guus Hiddink when the Dutchman took over after the Portuguese manager was sacked by the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich.
Willian had two years left on his previous deal, which would have seen him remain with Chelsea until 2018. The new contract extends that by two more years and sees Willian receive a pay increase. He will be hoping that his continued work with Chelsea sees his appearances for his international side continue to take place. He’s so far earned 30 Brazil caps since he made is debut for his national team in 2011. He’s scored six goals for the Verde-Amarela.