Maurizio Sarri Unhappy with Willian's Late Return to Chelsea Amid Exit Rumours

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has admitted he is "not happy" that Willian returned five days later than expected to pre-season after failing to update his passport.  

Per Kieran Gill of MailOnline, Sarri agreed it was a strange situation and said he will have words with the 29-year-old about the matter: "I want to speak to him. I am not happy about this situation but before I answer, I would like to speak to him."

Willian has been on holiday following his efforts with Brazil at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He was supposed to rejoin Chelsea last Friday but eventually only came back on Wednesday so could not play a part in the Blues' pre-season clash with Arsenal in Dublin.

The penalty shootout defeat to the Gunners was Chelsea's final fixture before Sunday's Community Shield meeting with Manchester City at Wembley.

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Sarri's side then have another pre-season clash with Lyon at Stamford Bridge before kicking off their 2018-19 Premier League campaign at Huddersfield Town on August 11.

As such, Willian should have the time to at least start picking up Sarri's methods before the season properly gets under way.

The new Blues manager would have wanted as much time with his key players as possible, though, and Willian's late return could have been avoided.

Per Gill, Willian has been linked with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona this summer, but the Blues said there was "nothing untoward" about his late arrival and he remained in constant contact.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk star has been a key attacking player for Chelsea recently, and Sarri will be eager that he hits top form as soon as possible.