Chelsea’s Brazilian international star, Willian, has admitted that he could have left the Blues if Antonio Conte remained as manager of the club.
Conte was sacked last month and has since been replaced by fellow Italian Maurizio Sarri. During his two years in charge of the Blues, Conte achieved decently, as he guided the club to the Premier League during his first season in charge, and followed that up with FA Cup success during his second season at the helm.
However, the former Italy national team boss ultimately paid the price, after the Blues finished fifth and outside the Champions League qualification spots last season. He was also said to be at odds with the club’s board over transfer policy.
Willian and Conte did not enjoy a good relationship. The midfielder had been linked with a move away from the Bridge this summer and was reportedly a target of Manchester United and Barcelona.
The 29-year-old could end up playing a major role under Sarri this season. Sarri will need to utilize all the experience and quality that he has, if he is to exceed expectations. The Blues are not expected by many to challenge for major silverware this season, as they lack a quality keeper, following the departure of Thibaut Courtois who left for Real Madrid.
Courtois has since been replaced by Kepa. While the young Kepa is a quality keeper with good distribution skills, he is still not familiar with the English game and time will tell whether he will be a success in the Premier League.
Like Courtois, Willian also admits that he could have left the Bridge had Conte remained in charge.
He said as reported by The Standard: “I’m here. I am here because I want to play for Chelsea. I will only leave if Chelsea wants me to leave. Would I still be here if Conte was there? No absolutely not. No.
“We have just started. We know that we still need to improve. Jorginho also did a great job (against Huddersfield). He has a lot of quality and he helps us to build better from the back. I think we played well. Now we have to continue, because next Saturday Arsenal is waiting, a great game, and we want to win.
“Do I have fun under the new manager? Yes, because we play different football now, with a different playing style. The manager tells us that we should have fun, but with responsibilities. We play a different game now and that’s why I think we can give Arsenal a lot of problems.
“We have many top quality players such as Eden Hazard and Pedro. Such players want to play football like that, do they not?”
