£26m Samba bid fails

Chelsea have been told they will have to raise their offer for Shakhtar Donetsk star Willian after failing with a £26million bid.

The Blues are keen to add another playmaker to their ranks and Willian has been strongly linked with a move to Stamford Bridge along with fellow Brazilian Oscar. Shakhtar manager Mircea Lucescu has now revealed that Chelsea have failed with a bid that falls well below their valuation of the 23-year-old, who has been with the Ukrainian outfit for the last five years. "They paid a lot of money for Hazard but are not willing to pay for Willian, even though he's better in my opinion," he revealed. "Chelsea want to buy Brazilian but made an offer for the eastern European market. They offered €34million but we don't think that's his current value." Lucescu has said Willian can go at the right price but it looks as though Chelsea have now switched their attentions to Oscar, who is said to be closing in on a move. It is highly unlikely that Roberto Di Matteo will go for both players so it looks as though Willian has missed out on a move to Chelsea.