Willian: I’d have left if Conte hadn’t been sacked
WILLIAN has revealed he would have left Chelsea in the summer transfer window if Antonio Conte had remained manager of the club.
United had been heavily linked with a move for the 29-year-old, however, he decided to stay at Stamford Bridge after Maurizio Sarri was appointed manager following the Italian’s sacking.
Willian was one of a number of senior players who fell out with Conte and the Brazilian international even posted a team picture of the FA Cup final win with the former Chelsea manager covered up by trophy emojis.
When Willian was asked if he would have remained at Chelsea if Conte was still at the club, the Brazil international replied: “No chance. No. I’m here because I want to play for Chelsea. I will only leave if Chelsea want me to go.”
Barcelona also held an interest in signing Willian and saw bids rejected for him before they instead opted to sign Bordeaux winger Malcom.
Speaking after Chelsea’s defeat to City in the Community Shield, Willian insisted he was happy with life under Sarri and is committed to staying at the club.
“I always told him [Sarri] I’m really happy playing for Chelsea,” Willian said.
“I never talk about me leaving the club, this is a new era with the new boss and our first conversations have gone really well and I hope to have a lot of victories for us.
“This is just the beginning. We have a new season, with a new philosophy, a new style of playing with a new manager, everything is new for everyone, but this team has everything to improve in all aspects. If we work hard we can achieve a lot of things.” “’I THINK football is changing and managers should be called head coaches.”
Barely 48 hours after Jose Mourinho uttered these words in the press conference room at Old Trafford, it emerged United were preparing to appoint a director of football for the first time in their 140-year history.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, the club have lacked a tangible identity and philosophy with three very different managers – David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Mourinho – at the helm.
That has been reflected in their scattergun approach in the transfer market, too.
In Ed Woodward’s first 10 windows as executive vice-chairman, United have signed jaded Galacticos, been relatively frugal, resorted to deadline day purchases and even looked at the next generation. All at various points since 2013.
Without a common theme, United have bought managerspecific players like Marouane Fellaini and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who are not always rated by their successors.
The idea with a director of football is that will no longer happen and players who fit the ‘United way’ will be prioritised.
Although it may be tempting to think this is a knee-jerk decision after a frustrating transfer window, it has been a long time coming as part of a wider restructure by Woodward.
Part of that shake-up has involved trebling the size of United’s scouting network across Europe, Asia and South America.
“This goes unseen and is not necessarily about bringing in more and more young players, but making sure that the correct due diligence is carried out before signings are made,” a United source previously told M.E.N. Sport.
“Ed was instrumental in the drawing up of the restructure of the academy, pulling in ideas from different teams and experiences from other clubs to produce a model that is right for United in the context of the modern game.
“The training ground has had a restructure under Ed and further investments are planned to maintain our position as having the best facilities on offer to youth players, through to first team.”
Whatever his frustrations with Woodward this summer, Mourinho likes the traditional British model.
So much so that Real Madrid even took the unprecedented step of removing director general Jorge Valdano in 2011 to give Mourinho more power.
Mourinho has a mixed record with transfer gurus: the good (Marco Branca at Inter), the bad (Michael Emenalo at Chelsea) and the ugly (Valdano at Real Madrid). Avram Grant even replaced him as manager in 2007.
It is a delicate situation for United. Mourinho is contracted until at least 2020 but they will want a director of football who can also work with his eventual successor.
But when the club have gone for three very different managers in the Woodward era, that is going to be tricky.
Edwin van der Sar, for example, has a very different philosophy to Mourinho and has not been shy in saying that on the record. A Van der Sar player is very different to a Mourinho player.
Welcome to the life of a head coach.