By Chris Wright
Chelsea have confirmed that, following a successful work permit appeal, Willian has joined the club from Anzhi Mikhailgorbachev for the princely sum of £32million, with the 25-year-old Brazilian attacker signing a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge.
The transfer of Willian to Chelsea has been completed: http://t.co/Q2lAIRtHEm #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) August 28, 2013
Willian (who will wear the no.22 shirt) told the Chelsea site: “I’m very happy to be here, it’s been a dream of mine to come and play here. Chelsea are one of the best clubs in the world, and now I’m going to play for one of the best managers in the world, so I’m very happy and looking forward to it.’
So, have Chelsea got their money’s worth? We’d venture not. Willian’s proven to be sporadically exciting and all, but we’d never fathom putting him in the “30-million-pound player” bracket in a month of Sundays, though perhaps judging a player’s worth as opposed to their valuation in the transfer market is a redundant concept these days.
Any road up, Chelsea’s quest to buy up the world’s reserve of B-list attacking midfielders takes another giant leap into the ridiculous.