Thiago Silva wanted Chelsea to re-sign star lighting up Premier League

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 23 May 2023 09:09 CDT
• 3 min read

Former Chelsea forward Willian has admitted that current Blues defender Thiago Silva tried to bring him back to Stamford Bridge when he left Arsenal in 2021.

Willian, 34, departed Chelsea to sign for Arsenal in 2020 following the Blues' spending spree that saw the summer arrivals of Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.

However, after one unsuccessful year at the Emirates Stadium, Willian left the club to join Brazilian side Corinthians.

READ: Is Potter the worst Chelsea manager in history? The records of every coach

Before he officially signed for Corinthians, Thiago Silva attempted to convince Chelsea to re-sign the winger. However, the veteran admitted recently that "things didn't work out."

That story has now been confirmed by Willian on Instagram.

READ: Surprising twist for Chelsea and Real Madrid in Cancelo chase

What has Willian said?

"Thiago is a friend that I’ve had since I left Chelsea, when he arrived right after. We always talk and since then he always says that I shouldn’t have left," Willian revealed.

"When I was about to leave Arsenal, he tried to talk to the Chelsea people, but unfortunately nothing happened. But he had this conversation to try to get me back, but it didn’t happen."

Instead, Willian returned to his homeland before joining Marco Silva's Fulham last summer. Despite his poor return at Arsenal, Willian has re-found his form at Craven Cottage, netting three goals and bagging a further three assists in the Premier League this campaign. Two of those goals and two of those assists have come since the season restarted after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Furthermore, Kai Havertz and Raheem Sterling are the only members of the Chelsea squad with more league goals than Willian this season.

Most notably, one of his strikes came during Fulham's 2-1 win over Chelsea in January.

Willian was also queried about Jorginho's transfer from Chelsea to Arsenal, something he did in 2020.

“It happens regularly here, several Chelsea players have already gone to Arsenal and vice versa and I see that as natural, when you see that the cycle at the club is ending it is normal to look for something that is good for you," he admitted.

“Of course, some Chelsea fans will certainly not like it, due to the rivalry, but the important thing is that he [Jorginho] is happy and I think he has everything to shine at Arsenal, he’s a player of great quality.”