• Premier League

Chelsea always my first choice - Willian

Willian has admitted he was not surprised by Chelsea's move to hijack his transfer to Tottenham after revealing the Blues tried to bring him to Stamford Bridge earlier in the summer.

The Brazilian attacking midfielder completed his move to Chelsea a few days after successfully coming through a medical with London rivals Spurs, yet he insisted a move to link up with Jose Mourinho was always his first option.

"Chelsea made an offer two months ago but I was not allowed to leave [Anzhi Makhachkala]," he told Brazilian television station Sportv.

"I kept following the club and I used to go to London to follow Chelsea whenever I had free time and now my dream has come true.

"I will work with Mourinho who is the best manager and I will grow a lot with him.

"Other clubs were interested, but my intention and dream of playing for Chelsea made the difference. The opportunity to play with Mourinho, the best manager in the world, also made a lot of difference. I always dreamed of wearing Chelsea's jersey."

Willian appreciates that he faces a battle to get into a Chelsea first-team blessed with a host of attacking midfield talent, while Mourinho has suggested his major summer signing "will need time" to find his feet in the Premier League.

But Willian insists the challenge doesn't daunt him as he targets a place in next summer's World Cup finals on home soil.

"I want to play in the World Cup, be among the 23 players in the squad," he added. "It's a dream I have and order to achieve it, I need to have a great season at Chelsea.

"I want to play for the national team. I had a chance to when Mano Menezes was the manager and I hope to have with [Luiz Felipe] Scolari too, but I have to work hard and do my best every game."

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