Chelsea Transfer Rumours: Last-Minute Swoop for Willian Defies Logic

"If there is one thing Chelsea needs, it is another attacking midfielder or winger," said no one ever.

And yet, with Willian seemingly on the precipice of signing a contract with Tottenham, Chelsea reportedly made a late bid for the player and entered the fray. 

Frankly, Chelsea's late swoop makes no sense at all—at least not at the moment. Nonetheless, BBC Sport's David Ornstein is reporting that the Blues are making their move to trump Tottenham and land Willian.

Sky Sports also reported Chelsea's interest in the player:

There are so many reasons to doubt the basis for this move, especially considering Chelsea already have attacking midfielders in Eden Hazard, Oscar, Juan Mata, Victor Moses, Andre Schurrle and Kevin De Bruyne. 

That's a lot of depth in Chelsea's attacking trio behind the striker. Phil McNulty of BBC Sport posits one reason why the Blues might be considering an addition to that depth:

Still, even if Moses is struggling, wouldn't Chelsea be better off spending their money—£30 million, according to FOX Sports—on another striker rather than on an additional attacking midfielder?

And not only that, but why the late swoop? As Gary Lineker notes, Willian was in North London ready to sign a contract when Chelsea made their move:

CNN's Tancredi Palmeri claims Willian even had his medicals taken care of:

That could cause some bad blood between the teams, Palmeri tweets, before hinting that it could mean interesting things for one of Chelsea's stars:

Palmeri seems to be indicating that Spurs would go after Mata, and after Chelsea's sneaky move on Thursday, why wouldn't they? However, the move for Willian could just as easily mean that Jose Mourinho would be willing to sell Mata to an interested buyer. 

There were rumours earlier this season that Mourinho didn't love Mata, a bit surprising since he was one of the best players in the Premier League last season. Could Mourinho be making a move for a player that he feels would better suit his system before shipping Mata out?

Perhaps. Or perhaps it simply means the end of the line for Moses, since I don't think many folks would trade Willian for Mata if given the option.

Still, with Schurrle and De Bruyne needing playing time, the addition of Willian wouldn't seem to be beneficial for Chelsea's young, attacking talent. 

Willian is undoubtedly talented and has started well this season. It's understandable why clubs like Tottenham and Liverpool crave his abilities, but it's hard to find a scenario where such an extravagant signing at an area of strength makes much sense.

Just because you can spend the money doesn't always mean you should spend the money. 

But when has that ever stopped Chelsea before?

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets throw cash at the transfer market like rappers make it rain.