Former star Willian is set for a shock return to the Premier League less than a year after his emotional return to Corinthians.
The 34-year-old ended an unhappy 12-month stint at by terminating his contract with the Gunners and intended to see out the remainder of his career with the Brazilian giants.
Willian’s return to his homeland hasn’t panned out as he had hoped, however, with a series of injuries restricting his appearances.
According to , with Corinthians having been knocked out of the Copa Libatadores by Flamengo, Willian is now on the verge of accepting an offer from Fulham and will join ’s newly promoted club.
Willian is set to meet the club’s board on Thursday and is unlikely to feature in Saturday’s derby against Palmeiras.
‘I don’t want to talk about this subject so as not to omit anything, we scheduled a conversation after today’s game, with the elimination,’ confirmed Corinthians’ club president Duilio Monteiro Alves.
‘Tomorrow morning, we’re going to have a talk. If something really changes, he has a contract until the end of next year, but we’ll leave that to tomorrow, we’ve just come out of an elimination.
‘I don’t want to hide anything, omit anything. Let’s wait for tomorrow.’
Willian spent seven trophy-laden years in west London with Chelsea, before moving to Arsenal on a free transfer two years ago.
Mikel Arteta had hoped that the experienced forward would help nurture the likes of Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe, but Willian’s time at the Emirates was spectacularly unsuccessful.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk star scored just a solitary goal during his one season at Arsenal and failed to cement a regular place in the side after signing a three-year contract.
Willian’s Arsenal struggles represented a line in the san moment for the club who have since dramatically shifted their transfer policy to invest in young talent whose values will only increase over time.
That policy has led to some difficult decision with Edu opting to pay off the likes of Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Willian.
Justifying that policy earlier this month, Edu said: ‘I know it hurts, I know it’s strange when I go to the board and say, ‘Sometimes it’s better to pay a player to leave, than maintain them’.
‘But I consider it an investment. Sometimes people say, ‘It’s expensive’. I say, ‘No, it’s investment’. But someone will pay if you sell? No, guys — if the player is above 26, 27 and not performing, big salary, no chance.’
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