'It’s difficult situation' - Willian admits long-term deal remains in doubt

Willian is open to signing a temporary deal that will see him stay at Chelsea beyond June 30 when his contract expires, but his long-term future at the club remains in doubt.

The Blues face a difficult call over renewing the 31-year-old's deal as rivals including Arsenal and Tottenham have shown interest in signing the forward on a free transfer.

Chelsea have a month to come to an agreement with the Brazilian over extending his stay as the Premier League have set a cut-off date of June 23.

Officials are targeting a mid-June restart for England's top-flight league, with Chelsea having nine games remaining and potentially another three in the FA Cup after reaching the quarter-final stage.

FIFA's guidelines have encouraged clubs and players to come to temporary agreements but an understanding between both parties is yet to have been found.

Beyond that, Chelsea have to consider Willian's long-term future, with talks remaining at a stand-still due to the club being reluctant to cave to the player's demands for a three-year deal as they rarely offer such terms to players over 30.

“It’s a difficult situation because Chelsea offered me two years and they are not going to change what they offered. I said I wanted three more years,” the winger told Esporte Interativo.

“The situation is difficult because of this. I really don’t know if it will be possible [to stay]. My goal is to continue working and focus on the remainder of the season, so that Chelsea can continue winning games.

“I have a clear head and I'm focused for the rest of the season that we have left. I think it’s difficult [to stay]. Let's see what happens.”

Meanwhile, fellow forward Pedro's future is also in doubt with his contract set to expire at the season's end.

At least four clubs have expressed an interest in the 32-year-old, including the likes of Roma, Real Betis, Inter Miami and Vissel Kobe.

It remains unclear whether Chelsea will offer the Spaniard a new deal but Frank Lampard has already expressed his concern at potentially losing both Pedro and Willian.

“It is still uncertain if and when play will get underway. We have big players [out of contract] so that's something I'm obviously looking at very carefully,” Lampard told Sky Sports News last week.

“The ones who are out of contract here have been great servants for the club, and actually have a lot of feelings for the club.

“Of course they'll be concerned about themselves, in terms of how training is now and if the pre-season is a rush. They're going to have to make sure they're alright.

“So it's going to have to be something we have to look at. Hopefully an arrangement can be made so they can stay with us. I would love the squad to look as it has all season, but we'll have to see how that works.”

Chelsea have, however, resolved two of their four expiring contract situations this week, activating one-year extension clauses for both Olivier Giroud and Willy Caballero.

The London side are back in non-contact, phase one training this week but N'Golo Kane and Callum Hudson-Odoi have been absent from Lampard's latest sessions.