Willian convinced Chelsea want to keep Luiz

Willian believes Chelsea want to keep David Luiz, whose contract expires at the end of the season.

Blues head coach Maurizio Sarri has spoken of his desire for Brazil defender Luiz and midfield playmaker Cesc Fabregas, whose deal also runs out on June 30, to stay.

However, the club’s established policy of one-year contracts for players aged over 30 is a stumbling block which may need to be overcome, Sarri has admitted.

Willian lauded the quality of Luiz after his compatriot created the decisive goal for N’Golo Kante in Sunday’s win at Crystal Palace with a pass few defenders are capable of.

Willian said: “We have to see if they club will want him. I think they want (him). For me, I want him to stay. David has a lot of quality to do these kind of passes.”

Sarri in early December said it would be very difficult to replace Luiz and Fabregas, who are both free to negotiate pre-contract agreements with foreign clubs from Tuesday.

But both players are 32 before the end of the season and want a longer deal than the one likely to be tabled by Chelsea.

Luiz is in his second spell at Chelsea, having had a two-year stint at Paris St Germain, and has re-established himself in the first XI after falling out of favour under Antonio Conte last term.

Fabregas is understudy to Jorginho and has expressed his frustration. The Spain international has been linked with a move.

Willian’s own contract expires in June 2020, at the same time as Eden Hazard’s.

While there has been plenty of conjecture over Hazard’s future, with the Belgian admitting his quandary over whether to pursue a “dream” move to Real Madrid, Willian is happy to bide his time.

The 30-year-old joined from Anzhi Makhachkala in 2013 and signed a four-year contract in 2016. He had been expected to leave if Antonio Conte had stayed as boss, but under Sarri Willian is relaxed about his future.

He said: “I’m fine. No rush about that. We can talk about that in the future, no problem.”