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Antonio Conte: This is the real reason Man United target Willian is not in my Chelsea team
ANTONIO CONTE has admitted Willian is on the Chelsea bench simply because of Pedro's great form.
Five absolute STUNNERS scored by Willian
Willian has been a peripheral figure for Chelsea in recent weeks and has not started a Premier League game since October.
Express Sport understands he is on Manchester United's radar, with former boss Jose Mourinho keen to snap him up with a £25million January bid in the pipeline.
On Friday, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte told Willian to work hard in training to win his place back.
Chelsea star Willian is a January target for Manchester United
And Conte has revealed that Willian is being kept out of the team by Pedro.
"Pedro is playing great football. He’s enjoying this type of football and showing his quality," Conte said.
"It’s not easy for me to make the decision between him and Willian but he’s playing very well and deserved to play [against Spurs].
"I’m very happy for him and [Victor] Moses, another player who in pre-season you wouldn’t think would be in the starting XI.
"Pedro scored a great goal but he worked a lot for the team, that’s what I want to see and it’s important to continue in this way.
"It’s also important for us to see Willian after a bad period for him."
Jose Mourinho is keen to bring Willian to Manchester United
Willian's last Premier League start came in October in the 2-0 win over Hull in which he scored.
International duty with Brazil and the death of his mother have since prevented him from getting a run in the team, losing his place to Pedro.
Pedro has started Chelsea's last six Premier League games and has scored three goals and provided five assists this term.
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