Willian was first choice target for Barcelona. Forgetting about the price, the quality is undoubtable.
Barca can get things wrong though. They spent a lot of money on players that failed to build up to the expectation/valuation. Andre Gomes, Paco Alcacer, Deulofeu... Dembele (given the price). Going for Willian was actually trying to fix the problem of repeated bad choices for the RW for them. So I wouldn't say that Barca going for him is a sign of "undoubted" quality.
I think his quality assessment can be more based on our observation of his career in the EPL rather than using Barca's assessment as testament. He's been good but he's hardly been excellent or world class. I don't think that's an exaggerated statement to make.
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Also worth noting, Barca eventually walked away from the deal. Maybe the reason he was first choice was because they thought they could get him for a cheap/reasonable price. Because ultimately the first/second choice stuff is based not just on quality but also theoretical availability.
Otherwise everyone's list would have "Mbappe" as first choice for the RW this summer, whether they are Manchester United or Scunthorpe United
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