Raphinha to Chelsea echoes Willian move as new transfer stategy looks set to expose Tuchel.

 Raphinha to Chelsea echoes Willian move as new transfer stategy looks set to expose Tuchel.

Thomas Tuchel’s caveats for Chelsea’s toothless attack will be removed this summer, as the key difference between the transfers of Raphinha and Willian looks set to shine a light on the Chelsea manager.

We love a good transfer hijacking and so, it appears, do Chelsea. They’ve been singing about their favourite swoop for nearly a decade…

‘The sh**e from Spurs, They bought his flight, But Will-i-an, He saw the light, He got the call from Abramovich, And off he went to Stamford Bridge, And he hates Tottenham, he hates Tottenham, He hates Tottenham and he hates Tottenham…’

Substitute Spurs for Arsenal, Raph-in-ha for Will-i-an and Abramovich for Todd Boehly and the chant becomes admittedly less catchy, but does include the crux of the matter that makes it such a bloody good laugh for those Blues fans: Raphinha, like Willian, probably doesn’t ‘hate’ Arsenal, but he clearly prefers Chelsea.

Both wingers, both Brazilian, both in talks with a north London rival, both pounced on by Chelsea at the 11th hour (or one of the hours before that): there are striking similarities between the two transfers.

In the 2012/13 season, just before they signed Willian, Chelsea – as was the case in 2021/22 – had just pipped Arsenal and Spurs to third place. The only difference, which proved crucial in Spurs’ attempt to sign Willian then, and in Arsenal’s chase of Raphinha now, is that both clubs were battling Chelsea for their signatures from fifth place, rather than fourth.

Had Arsenal and Chelsea gone toe-to-toe then, and had Spurs been battling now, the playing field would have been levelled. They may not have been able to compete with Chelsea financially, but at least Champions League football – which makes a tough call an easy one for the players – would not have been a point of difference.

Willian scored 61 goals and provided 62 assists in 338 appearances for Chelsea, winning five major trophies, including two Premier League titles, and was named Player of the Season in 2016. He was a very good signing, and Spurs, of course, won nothing in that time. But beating Arsenal to Raphinha feels like the bigger moment for Chelsea.