Shakhtar Donetsk head coach Mircea Lucescu has announced that his hotly desired attacking midfielder Willian will be available to Europe's top clubs in January - but only if they are willing to pay the player’s minimum fee release clause of £28 million, according to talkSPORT.
The Brazilian has been a long-term target for Chelsea, who fought with Tottenham Hotspur in the summer for the Shakhtar winger’s signature; however neither club could reach an agreement with the Ukranian champions to bring Willian to the Premier League. Serie A giants Inter Milan have also been trailing the midfielder.
The 24-year-old’s stock has recently risen after recording a brace against Chelsea in the Champions League as his club continue to impress in the European tournament. Willian now has 33 goals in 214 club appearances, and earned two caps for his country last year.
The Brazil international arrived from Corinthians in 2007 for £12 million, but Shakhtar coach Lucescu wants a £16million return on the club’s investment should they let Willian leave in January.
“If [Inter president Massimo] Moratti asks me about Willian, I will tell him that Shakhtar want to achieve things in Europe and will not sell their players,” Lucescu told Italian sports Newspaper TuttoSport.
“There’s a buy-out clause, though, which is £28 million for Willian.
“Chelsea paid £25million for Oscar this summer. The difference between Willian and Oscar is that Willian is much more mature, and has already plenty of Champions League experience and has played in a strong European league for years.
“Chelsea wanted to sign Willian this summer for £16million, but we turned them down. They went for Hazard for over £24million instead.
"The fact remains that we do not want to sell him,” he added.
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