Arsenal are the favourites in the race for Chelsea’s Willian on a free transfer.
Plenty of other Premier League sides are also lining up deals for the veteran but the London rivals seem to have the best chance of signing him.
ESPN Brazil reporter, Jorge Nicola told his YouTube channel, “Arsenal are a little ahead today, but everything is still open. Especially because the pandemic affected the entire financial reality of football in the world.”
Willian has been demanding a three-year contract extension beyond his current deal which is set to expire this June. Chelsea have a club policy of only handing out one-year extensions to players above 30. However, they were still ready to offer a two-year deal for their most experienced attacker.
In the end, negotiations broke down and Willian is up for grabs for all Premier League sides. His talents do call for a lucrative deal, given his 7 years of service to the Blues, 59 goals and 59 assists in 321 appearances. Arsenal, just might not be the right club for him, however.
The Gunners have plenty of youth talent in the wing positions – Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Reiss Nelson and summer transfer, Nicolas Pepe. They hardly need another wide player when the midfield and defence need more addressing to.
READ MORE: Top 5 Arsenal Transfer Targets Summer 2020
