What can we tell you about the Shakhtar Donetsk winger on Andre Villas-Boas’s shopping list?
With Tottenham expected to mount a serious bid for the Brazilian 24 year old what can we tell you about the winger?
1. Willian Borges da Silva was born in Ribeirao Pires, in the State of Sao Paolo in 1988.
2. He joined Sa Paolo based side Corinthians as a youngster and played with Javier Mascherano, Carlos Tevez and Nilmar during his time with Timao.
3. Following internal strife at the club and eventual relegation Willian signed on for Shakhtar Donetsk in 2007 joining compatriots Fernandinho, Brandao and Jadson at the Brazilian revolution in Donetsk.
4. He wasn’t alone in making the journey from Brazil to Ukraine that summer as Luiz Adriano and Ilsinho also joined The Miners whilst fellow Samba stars Elano and Matuzalem departed.
5. Playing out on the wing, Willian was an integral part of the Shakhtar side that won their first European silverware in 2009 after defeating Werder Bremen in the last ever UEFA Cup format final.
6. He has also won the Ukrainian Premier League on 3 occasions during his time at Shakhtar and the Ukrainian Cup twice as Donetsk wrestled the dominance away from rivals Dynamo Kiev.
7. He represented Brazil at Under-20 level, winning the South American Youth Championship in 2007 in a side containing future Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva, AC Milan forward Alexandre Pato and future team-mate Luiz Adriano.
8. Brazil defeated an Argentina side containing Angel Di Maria; a Uruguay team consisting of Edison Cavani and a Chile side with Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal at their disposal to the crown.
9. He has since gone on to play 2 games for the senior side since making his debut against Gabon last November.
10. If the winger is feeling especially self-involved he could genuinely move into a village called Willian. The North Hertfordshire settlement sits inside of Letchworth Garden City with a population of 326 people and would not be too distant a commute for a professional footballer.
Here is a video of the lad in action, would you want to see him at White Hart Lane next season…?
image: © StartAgain
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