Fulham manager Marco Silva hailed Willian as a ‘top professional’ after the Brazilian returned to Fulham on Thursday morning for a third spell at the Club.
The 36-year-old, who left Olympiakos at the end of December, will spend the rest of the 2024/25 season at Craven Cottage
“The reception and the way everyone has welcomed him again speaks volumes about himself,” said Silva in his pre-Wigan press conference.
“He’s a top professional, not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well. Of course, the main thing is to have good players who can help the team win games, but at the same time, you need to have the right characters in the dressing room as well. He comes into training every day with a smile on his face.
“As a footballer, he fits really well with the way we want to play.
"It’s probably going to take him two or three weeks to be in the best shape he can be, because he’s not played in the last month and a half.
“He wanted to come back to Fulham. I have a great relationship with him from a personal point of view. He was an important player in the last two seasons and he helped the club achieve important things. Let’s hope in 15/20 days we can have him back at his best level and he can embrace the challenge ahead of him.”
Saturday's FA Cup Fourth Round tie at Wigan isn’t short on sub-plots – and one of them centres around the two gaffers.
For the second time in this FA Cup campaign, Silva will be pitting his wits in the dugout against one of his old players, after coming up against Tom Cleverley in the Third Round clash against Watford last month.
Latics boss Shaun Maloney played under Silva at Hull City – and our gaffer isn’t surprised to see the 42-year-old in management.
“I had Shaun at a different age to what I had Tom,” said Silva. “He was older in that moment. He always had an eye on everything we were doing, I always had chats with him and most of the time, at the end of the sessions, he would ask questions. He was interested in everything.
“It was in his mind to try and get the chance to be a coach and it was clear to me that if he was going to get the chance, he was going [to take it]. He was a top professional, a lovely guy and I’ve been in contact with him.
"Even when he was assistant to [Roberto] Martinez at Belgium, we met sometimes, and we met in England as well. It will be really good to see him before and after the match.”
There are a couple of other storylines surrounding Saturday’s showdown. Twin brothers Ryan and Steven Sessegnon could face off against each other if both selected, while Martial Godo will return to the Brick Community Stadium for the first time since spending a successful loan spell in Greater Manchester last term.
“[Steven] Sessegnon didn’t play in the last game but he is probably going to be ready to play against us,” said Silva. "If he is ready, he is probably going to play and it’s going to be another great connection from the game.
“You have the situation of Martial, who had a good spell there last season. My relationship with Shaun Maloney created the scenario for him to go there and it was a good spell. It was nice to see everyone at Wigan help him and now he is our player.
“He is making big steps. When he first arrived at our club for our Under-21s, he came from really low divisions. His spell at Wigan was important for him.
"I had a conversation with Martial about why it was an important moment for him to go out of his comfort zone and play senior football week in, week out.
“We felt that when he came back for pre-season, he was a different player, a lot more mature. If he gets the chance, you are going to see with your eyes that he’s going in the right direction.”
On his FA Cup hopes Marco Silva said "We are full of ambition for this competition. It is a really special competition and something I used to see on television when I was really young. There are always surprises and you don't want to be part of these surprises."
He continued: "Nobody is going to underestimate Wigan because it's always tough to play in the FA Cup away from home. You have to be really serious in your approach. Everybody is completely focused in their role and our ambitions for the game."