Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says that the transfer window ‘is over’ as far as his side is concerned. This puts aspersions on his move for signing the Everton defender John Stones.
The Blues boss has infuriated the Toffees with a couple of bids already in the transfer window. The bids were outright rejected by Everton and the club denied any chances of Stones being sold. But, there were indications that the Merseyside club could be lured into a £30 million deal.
Mourinho, however, insists that the transfer window is over for him and he is not looking to make any more signings.
The transfer window is over. I don’t like the transfer window when the competition starts after tomorrow, I don’t like transfer window during the competition.
Mourinho has a point. Any player coming so close to the start of the season will find it difficult to integrate with the squad. Stones is expected to be the long term successor for captain John Terry at the heart of defence. Expecting him to strike a chord of synergy right away with Cahill or even Terry is very demanding.
The move for Augsburg youngster Baba Rahman is reportedly close to completion. His agent has also reportedly announced that it is a matter of time that the left-back will join the Blues.
Mourinho always likes his team to build up to a campaign and these statements should be taken in that context. The club has seen little activity with just Asmir Begovic and Radamel Falcao joining at Stamford Bridge – the latter on season-long loan from Monaco.
The Blues boss was categorical when pressed further on his plans.
What happened, happened, but I’m not going to lose one minute of my time to think about transfer window, I have to think about how to get the best out of my players, and that’s what I am doing now.
More worrying for Mourinho as we near another Premier League season is the fitness of Diego Costa. Unless he is looking to sign a proven striker to give back-up for Costa, there could be no signs of any activity at the Stamford Bridge.
