Once again Jose Mourinho sat down in front of the media at our training base in Cobham to speak about this weekends fixture vs West Bromwich Albion.
As usual, Mourinho started his press conference by providing team news for the fans and media. He confirmed that two of our players won’t feature due to injury and that he’s unsure on whether Pedro or Rahman will be available.
Moses and Oscar are still injured. I don’t know if the new players are available for Sunday or not.
Our manager also expressed his delight in our two new signings and suggested they will only be positives for the club.
This week we got a very good young left-back with potential and one of the best attacking players in the world. New players are always welcome. Obviously I’m happy that both of them (Rahman and Pedro) came to Chelsea.
He then spoke further about yesterday’s signing and admitted he was shocked that Pedro wanted to leave a great club like Barcelona but expressed how it delighted him that he wanted to join Chelsea despite being at Barcelona since a young age.
Normally when you are at a club like Barcelona, you don’t want to leave. It’s a sign of ambition, Pedro wants to play. Pedro wants more and I’m really happy with that kind of attitude. He wants to play, to win and to enjoy. Finally we understood that Pedro was ready to leave the club of his dreams, of his heart, where he played since he was a boy.
I don’t want to say we won, Man United lost – that’s not the point. It’s a moment for Pedro to enjoy a different step.
The media then asked Mourinho whether there’s still interest from Chelsea for John Stones but he was quick to dismiss it. They then tried to get a different answer out of him and asked whether he’s looking to sign a centre back before the window shuts.
I don’t speak about players from other clubs. I’m quiet. Like I said, I call it an opportunity window. It depends on whether we can do something”
Pedro is known for giving everything on the pitch and always putting in a consistently good performance.
When I saw Pedro playing the Super Cup like it was the last game of his career, I thought he was staying in Barcelona for sure. So when a professional gives everything even though he has his mind set on leaving, we cannot miss such an opportunity.
Finally Mourinho gave some more information about team news and confirmed one of our players will return. He also didn’t admit or deny that our captain will start.
Courtois will be back in goal. I’m so happy with Begovic’s performances, but Courtois is back in goal.
Question: “Will John Terry start against West Brom?”
Maybe. Why not? Normally he’s in my line-up. He accepted my decision last weekend.