Tottenham furious as Chelsea hijack Willian transfer

Tottenaham Hotspur are furious after city rivals Chelsea hijacked the signing of Anzhi Makhachkala midfielder Willian, with only a medical reportedly pending before a move to the Blues.

Oscar of Chelsea challenges Willian of Shakhtar Donetsk during the UEFA Champions League Group E match between Chelsea and Shakhtar Donetsk at Stamford Bridge on November 7, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

Willian was seemingly set to join Spurs, but Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich made a personal call to fellow Russian oligarch Suleyman Kerimov, the Anzhi owner to make sure that the midfielder came to the blue part of London instead, according to reports.

In the wake of Willian’s change of decision, the complaints from White Hart Lane were loud and sustained.

Daniel Levy, the chairman, was, according to Guardian sources, incandescent and Tottenham believe that Chelsea did not truly want Willian. Instead, Tottenham feel Chelsea have moved for him purely to prevent Villas-Boas from constructing a squad to challenge them in the Premier League this season. Chelsea deny this and insist they have always had an interest in Willian.

Chelsea maintain that there is nothing underhand about their actions and it is understood that they have been looking at Willian long before this summer, almost signing him from Shakhtar two seasons ago. Although they were unable to reach an agreement over his value then, they have continued to target him and were considering making a bid earlier this summer.

Mourinho on Willian’s transfer said: “I don’t like to speak before time because football can be crazy and this is the problem when we speak a lot about names and transfers. Sometimes it looks like he is but it isn’t. But I know what the player wants, so we cannot hide.”