Result for Lamela? The reason Spurs were unable to sign Chelsea's creative forward

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Willian has revealed he jumped at the chance to make his “dream” move to Chelsea in 2013 after almost joining Tottenham.

The Brazilian has made over 268 appearances for Chelsea since arriving from Anzhi Makhachkala in the summer of 2013.

How close was Willian to joining Spurs? Five key things to know…

  1. Willian arrived at Chelsea for a reported £30m in August 2013.
  2. Spurs were in the process spending the £80m Gareth Bale fee they were to receive from Real Madrid.
  3. It is claimed Willian was one of Spurs’ targets and even completed a medical.
  4. But Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich struck a late deal for Willian with Anzhi owner Suleyman Kerimov.
  5. Willian has won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup with Chelsea, while Tottenham have collected no trophies in that time.

This season, Willian has scored five goals and provided six assists in 32 games so far, including a stunning winner against Newcastle United last week.

Speaking to the club’s official website, the 30-year-old recalled how thrilled he was when his “dream” move to Chelsea came about.

“It was my dream to come to play for Chelsea,” said Willian, who has created the fourth-most chances (50) in the Premier League this season.

“I knew Chelsea had made some offers while I was at Shakhtar so when I eventually arrived here, after a short spell with Anzhi Makhachkala, it was amazing.

“Having David Luiz, Oscar and Ramires here when I joined was very important for me because they helped me a lot with the language and inside the club, so it was very helpful.

“I told myself I had to start again because at Shakhtar I had my position and I always played. Everyone knew about my profile and how I played.

“I knew I had to start from zero to prove myself because it was a new club, new team-mates, new fans, and we had Jose Mourinho, who was a big manager. He gave me a lot of confidence to show my quality.”

Would Willian have blocked another Spurs player’s path?

Willian’s expected move to Spurs is alleged to have broken down about a week before the summer transfer window closed in 2013.

On August 30, Tottenham completed deals for Christian Eriksen for around £11.5m and Erik Lamela for around £27m. It was reported Spurs sped up negotiations for the latter after Chelsea hijacked their move for Willian, suggesting Spurs may not have signed one of Lamela or Eriksen had they been successful in buying the Brazilian.

Eriksen has gone on to become one of Tottenham’s most important and talented players, especially since Mauricio Pochettino came into the club in 2014.

Lamela has struggled with serious injuries but was one of the driving force behind Spurs’ personal record-breaking start to the current Premier League campaign, in which he scored four in his opening seven appearances.

Whether Willian would have shone as brightly in north London is up for debate, but he will have no regrets considering the amount of silverware he has won with Chelsea.

The post Willian explains why he snubbed Tottenham for Chelsea appeared first on Squawka News.



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