Willian is expected to terminate the last two years of his contract at Premier League giants Arsenal with a return to former club Corinthians on the cards, according to Tuttomercatoweb.
Following the impact of the pandemic and without Champions League football to boost the coffers, Arsenal’s tendency to overpay on signings and then sell unwanted players for far less than their market value is proving to be an unhelpful combination.
Since the start of last summer, the London giants have allowed Mesut Ozil, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Shkodran Mustafi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan – four players who set the club back about £100 million in total – to leave the Emirates Stadium for nothing.
With just one week left in the transfer window and a paucity of offers on the table, that same fate could soon befall seldom-seen left-back Sead Kolasinac.
According to Tuttomercatoweb, Arsenal won’t stand in Willian’s way either if a player who signed on a three-year deal from Chelsea 12 months ago wants to rip up a contract that’s not due to expire until summer 2023.
Will Arsenal rip up Willian’s contract?
The 70-cap Brazil international is understood to earn a net wage of about £120,000 a week in north London.
Just to add some salt to the wounds, Arsenal would have to pay Willian a severance package if the winger left for free.
After producing a grand total of one goal in 37 appearances under Mikel Arteta, it’s tempting to wonder whether there has been a bigger waste of money in Arsenal’s recent history?
Denis Suarez, Lucas Perez and Kim Kallstrom may enter the equation but none of that trio came close to Willian in terms of wages or expectation.
Not so long ago two-time Premier League winner Willian was seen as one of the most feared, technically gifted forwards in the country.
“He is a winner,” Arteta said at the time of the Brazilian’s signing from Chelsea. “And he is going to bring some special qualities for our team.”
According to Tuttomercatoweb, Corinthians would love to bring Willian back to Brazil.
However, you’d imagine the veteran winger would need to take a substantial pay cut to rejoin a club where he started his career in 2006.
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