Chelsea transfer news: Maurizio Sarri seeks urgent talks with Willian after late return to pre-season
Sarri admitted he was not happy with Willian's late return
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has admitted that he is “not happy” with Willian’s failure to report for pre-season training on time, confirming that he will seek urgent talks with the player this weekend.
Willian was supposed to report back from his post World Cup holiday last Friday, with Chelsea hopeful he would play some part in Wednesday night’s friendly against Arsenal in Dublin. However, the Brazilian failed to arrive as expected when his passport expired.
A source at the club later confirmed that Willian — who has been persistently linked with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United this summer — did not arrive at Chelsea’s training base until Wednesday afternoon, a full five days after he was originally due back.
Speaking after his side’s penalty shootout defeat to Arsenal, Sarri agreed that the situation was ‘strange’ and said that he wants urgent talks with the 29-year-old.
“I want to speak to him before I answer these questions,” said Sarri. “I want to speak to him. I am not happy about this situation but before I answer, I would like to speak to him.”
Asked if it was strange, Sarri said: “I think so.”
Chelsea insist there is no ulterior motive behind Willian’s failure to report back to training on time, explaining that his absence is because of a lack of pages on his previous passport. The club also say Willian has kept them fully informed about his travel situation.
However, his absence is an unwanted distraction ahead of the new season, especially considering the transfer speculation that has surrounded the player this summer. His late return to pre-season training also means he is now a serious doubt for both the Community Shield and Chelsea’s opening game of the Premier League season, against Huddersfield.
Sarri added that he has no further information about the future of Belgian duo Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois. Like Willian, the pair have both been linked with moves to Madrid.
When asked for an update on Hazard and Courtois, Sarri said: “Not at this moment, no, because I will see them on Saturday for the first time. So I don’t know the situation in this moment. There is no news.
“We are talking about top players. Every club wants to keep their top players and we are trying to do it.”
Sarri also appears to have changed his mind on including teenage forward Callum Hudson-Odoi in his first team this season.
The 17-year-old impressed in last week’s friendly against Inter Milan, but Sarri was quick to warn him that opportunities in the first-team would be scarce. “I don’t know if they will play this season in the Premier League,” he said of Hudson-Odoi and team-mate Ethan Ampadu. “But I know that these names will be very famous in the next years.”
But after another bright cameo, Sarri rowed back on those comments. When asked whether he would keep Hudson-Odoi in his first-team squad, he said: “I think so. He will stay with us for all the season.
“Hudson-Odoi is a very young player. We have to wait. In the future he will be a very, very strong player for sure.”
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