According to a recent report from ESPN, Willian would prefer to stay at Chelsea rather than move to Barcelona in the summer when his contract officially expires.

What's the word, then?

The Brazil international will officially become a free agent this summer but would still like to continue working under Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge and sign a new contract if possible, as per the same outlet.

ESPN also explain that the 31-year-old forward has no agreement in place with the Catalan giants as his first choice is very much to remain in the Premier League where both he and his family are settled.

Mourinho's produced some incredible footballing stars - how much do you know about them?

There might be a slight problem, however, as the same source states the Blues would only be willing to offer the Brazilian a two-year contract while he believes he has the fitness to warrant a three-year one.

Still, for Barcelona, this might be good news after all.

Verdict

While there's no denying that Willian - despite being 31 years of age at this point - is still a quality player, it doesn't feel like he's someone Barcelona need right now.

Granted, currently their forward line is heavily depleted with the injuries to Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele and with the departure of Carles Perez to Roma, but adding more ageing forwards into the squad, even if they are free, should not be their priority.

The likes of Alex Collado and Ansu Fati look like great options for the future and could offer squad depth, while Barcelona can then focus on more pressing matters if they choose to do so in the summer.

Willian has netted five goals and provided five assists in the ongoing campaign across all competitions, but with him ageing and reportedly hoping to stay, it just doesn't feel like it's worth the trouble for the Blaugrana.

Elsewhere, Barcelona were extremely desperate to land a striker in January and were even willing to sacrifice their loanee to do so...