Willian has become the first big Chelsea player who’s come out to voice his concerns over the resumption of the Premier League next month.
The winger is out of contract at Stamford Bridge on June 30 and speaking about the mindset of the players, Willian has admitted that most of the players are not too keen to return back to action so soon.
“Honestly, from what I can see, a lot of players – the majority, I’d say – are uncomfortable with the idea of returning right now,” Willian said, as quoted by the Evening Standard.
“We’re really keen to return, we really miss playing and doing what we love. But it needs to be safe for us to do so. That’s how we’re looking at it. Our health has to come first.
“So right now, players don’t feel comfortable with the idea of returning until it’s totally safe to do so.
“Our squad has spoken a lot over the internet, via different apps, and we’ve had some meetings too. Lampard has sent us information about what the Premier League wants to do.
“We still don’t know how things are going to play out, moving forward. Hopefully, we’ll know in the next few days. The Premier League is going to have a meeting and then they’ll inform us about the next steps.”
Will Willian refuse to play for Chelsea?
This statement from Willian comes just days after his manager Frank Lampard had claimed that most of his players are raring to get back on the pitch.
The Blues boss had admitted: “My lads, I know – and I’m sure all managers will speak in the same way – they’re good lads. Their intentions and their feelings for their families are good. They want to get here and work. They can’t wait to get back and play football.
“I think the important part of my job at the moment is a lot of empathy with the players.”
But now this declaration from Willian has really thrown a spanner into Lampard’s plan with some people claiming that the Brazilian along with a few others could refuse to play for the rest of the season, more so since Willian and some other key members are soon set to be free agents.
A big club like Man United have already made it clear that they will not force their players to return back to action if they are uncomfortable. Now we will have to wait and see how the London outfit handles this situation.
