Willian's career-best form gives Chelsea serious headache over future

It was closer than Frank Lampard may have liked, but Chelsea's 3-2 win at Crystal Palace on Tuesday evening means they remain well placed to secure a top-four finish. Coupled with Leicester's 1-1 draw at Arsenal, the Blues ended the day in third, one point above the Foxes in the table. 

Since football returned, Chelsea have been one of the form teams in the league, picking up 12 points of 15 available, the only blip on the record coming in their 3-2 loss at West Ham, an opponent they routinely struggle against on their travels. Lampard will be pleased with the momentum of his side ahead of the final matches of the campaign as they seek to now finish in the top three, something that seemed impossible pre-lockdown given the downturn in performances. 

A consistent this side of lockdown, though, has been the displays of Willian. Chelsea must be counting their blessings the Brazilian agreed to a short-term extension to his current deal, which should have expired over a week ago. Willian could easily have gone the same route of Ryan Fraser and elect against scuppering a summer move and cut his time at the Blues short, yet he continues to excel on the Blues frontline in their quest to secure Champions League football. 

Indeed, only Bruno Fernandes (8.33) and Allan Saint-Maximin (8.14) have earned a better WhoScored rating than Willian (8.03) since Premier League action resumed last month. A pair of assists against Palace on Tuesday means no player has had a direct hand in more post-lockdown Premier League goals than Willian (6). With seven possible matches left to play for Willian now - Chelsea are unlikely at this stage to overturn their 3-0 first leg Champions League loss to Bayern, though stranger things have happened - the 31-year-old's time at Stamford Bridge is drawing to a close 

Out of contract soon, Chelsea are only willing to offer Willian a one-year contract extension, but the player himself wants a longer deal. It's a policy of Chelsea's to only offer 12-month deals for players aged 30 and over, which at this time doesn't sit well with Willian, who is believed to be looking to land a two-year deal at least. While this would have been out of the question for the Blues at the turn of the year, would it be wise to make Willian an exception to the rule? 

Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner have joined this summer and the pair are able to play out wide, but Chelsea could correct a key area that needs strengthening without needing to spend big if they were to offer Willian a longer deal. Ziyech has come in to ease Pedro's looming departure and help shoulder the burden on young wide pair Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic. Werner, meanwhile, as proven by his goal record in the Bundesliga last season, is far more effective operating centrally rather than on the left wing, despite a tendancy to pull wide. 

Chelsea have been linked with a number of wingers to strengthen in the off-season, including Jadon Sancho and Said Benrahma, but can save their money and improve elsewhere were they to try and keep Willian on beyond another season. His good form of late has helped propel him back into the spolight, with Willian having a direct hand in a goal in all but one of his last eight Chelsea outings, which includes man of the match performances against Leicester and Crystal Palace. 

He has made more key passes (67) than any other Chelsea player, while only Mateo Kovacic (71) has completed more dribbles than Willian (62) in the Premier League this season. On top of that, his WhoScored rating of 7.37 is the second best of all Blues stars. Keeping him on the books would ease the pressure on Ziyech to make an immediate impact in England and allow Hudson-Odoi and Pulisic to grow further, safe in the knowledge they have an experienced head to learn from and develop accordingly. 

With the Coronavirus pandemic expectd to have an impact on finances in the off-season, and teams unlikely to spend heavily to invest this summer, Chelsea could benefit from keeping Willian on for a little while longer yet and, if he can maintain his consistency, still have sell on value on one of their depreciating assets next summer.