Chelsea forward Willian has insisted he will not be looking to sign a pre-contract agreement with any other club in January as he waits to learn if he will be offered a new deal at Stamford Bridge.
The Brazil international’s current contract is up at the end of the season, with Barcelona having been linked with the former Shakhtar Donetsk star.
Chelsea typically only offer one-year contracts to their players over the age of 30, with 31-year-old Willian fitting into that bracket.
The Blues have broken with that policy in recent years to allow David Luiz and Olivier Giroud to sign on fresh terms.
It remains to be seen whether Willian, who has impressed under Frank Lampard this season, will be offered the same privilege, but he has rejected claims he could open talks with any potential suitors in the new year.
“No, not yet,” Willian said following Wednesday’s draw with Valencia when asked whether there was a new contract offer on the table. “No, I don’t want to talk to them [other clubs] because I have a contract until the end of the season. I am a Chelsea player but I just want to say the club knows what I want to do.
“Honestly, I’m happy here. I feel happy to play for this club but this situation is not in my hands. I wait for them. They know what I want, what I want to do. They already know so I wait for them.”
Willian is one of the elder statesmen in this Chelsea team, with Lampard blooding a host of youngsters during his opening months in charge in west London.
And the Brazilian insists that having a less experienced dressing room is helping him feel young again while insisting that the move will stop the club challenging for trophies.
“I feel young. Every day they learn with me and I learn with them. It’s a mix. I feel very young. I feel happy to play with them,” he added.
“Actually I feel that Chelsea always wants to win something. In the past we did it and we want to do it again with these young players. We have to continue to work hard to go in the same way.”
As Chelsea have been going forward so far this term, they have often looked a bit chaotic and ragged at the back. Valencia missed a host of chances at Mestalla, with the result meaning the Blues must beat Lille in their final group stage match to ensure they reach the knockout stages.
Lampard admitted that his side was a bit lucky and that the match “could have ended 5-5 or 6-6′” post-match, and Willian agreed.
“The end of the game was crazy, you know, and it’s difficult to play here against Valencia with the atmosphere,” he continued. “At least we got a point and now we have a decider at home. I think we got a little bit lucky but it was like this so now we go to the game against Lille.
“I think we have been playing well. I think first half we created some chances and conceded some counterattacks but we were always in control with the ball, possession. Second half after our second goal they pressed a lot and we started to give them counterattacks.
“That’s why they created a lot of chances at the end of the game. But we got one point, now we have to decide at home.”
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