Shakhtar Donetsk manager Mircea Lucescu has encouraged Chelsea to bid for the club's Brazilian star Willian.
Blues owe win to Cech, says Shakhtar defender
Shakhtar Donetsk manager Mircea Lucescu has encouraged Chelsea to bid for the club's Brazilian star Willian - if they pay the right price.
The 23-year-old Brazil international joined the Ukrainian giants from Corinthians in 2007, picking up three league titles and the 2009 UEFA Cup during his time at the club.
The attacking midfielder's performances have attracted the attention of Chelsea in the past with Shakhtar chief executive officer Sergei Palkin revealing in January that the club had rejected a £16.7million bid for their prized asset.
But there appears to have been a softening in attitude at Shakhtar with boss Lucescu not only seeming to encourage more bids but also invite offers for the rest of his talented squad.
"They have to pay the price," he said at the club's training centre in Donetsk on Thursday.
"They have to pay the price because we bring the players here at 17 or 18 years old.
"We pay a lot of money because they are talented players and we bring them up. I have 23 or 24 [players like that], not only Willian.
"Luiz Adriano, Douglas Costa, Alex Teixeira, Dentinho, Alan Patrick - they are very young and they are already prepared to win a championship with a good mentality.
Value
"They have played a lot of matches in Europe and they have a very, very good value.
"If Chelsea pay his [asking price], I am not against letting my players play for the big clubs.
"If they pay the price, he can go. If not, he will remain here because he has another two-and-a-half years on his contract."
Lucescu is unsure whether Chelsea will renew their interest in Willian in the summer, but is confident the steady stream of talent being nurtured at Shakhtar will continue.
Asked about the likely transfer free for the player, the Romanian said: "It is not my problem."
"It is the problem of our club and Chelsea.
"But if Chelsea want to take good players that are very well educated then at Shakhtar we have a lot of Brazilians.
Education
"It is not only the performances they have done here but their education, which is very, very important.
"For us, every transfer is very difficult because we (have) taken a player of 18 years without a European education."
The eyes of Europe were on Chelsea on Wednesday when they made headlines by beating champions Barcelona in the first-leg of their Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge.
And Shakhtar defender Tomas Hubschman believes his Czech Republic team-mate Petr Cech deserves much of the credit for the victory.
"He played the best and is the reason Chelsea won yesterday," he said of the Blues goalkeeper.
"I am not a supporter of Chelsea but their goalkeeper is a friend of mine so that is why I watched.
"As for me, I like Barcelona. I prefer them more because they play very good and beautiful football. Chelsea play for the result, to win."
