A round up of the latest news stories and transfer rumours about Chelsea from the past 24 hours.
Fernando Torres could feature for Chelsea in the Premier League game against Aston Villa tomorrow. The Spaniard picked up a groin problem in the win over Tottenham but it’s unclear at the moment whether he’ll start tomorrow or be held back for the Champions League game against Galatasaray.
Two players who are unlikely to feature are central defender David Luiz and left-back Ashley Cole. Mourinho revealed that Cole suffered a knee problem in training while Luiz has failed to recover from a problem he was carrying when he recently linked up with Brazil.
“We are not this kind of club who won’t send players off to their national teams if they are injured – David was injured with us and missed some important matches, like Galatasaray when he was not ready. But he went to the national team injured,” the boss told the press.
Mourinho has also revealed he feels he was misinterpreted by Manchester City star Yaya Toure. Toure accused the Portuguese coach of a lack of respect in the build up to the Champions League matches earlier this week.
“He has a strange concept of lack of respect. If to say before the Munich match and Camp Nou match ‘this is not over, Arsenal and City have enough quality to turn things around,’ if to support the teams in the country where I work, if this is lack of respect, OK,” said Mourinho.
In transfer news, Chelsea are reported to be in a battle against Arsenal and Manchester United to sign Bayern Munich forward Mario Mandzukic. With Robert Lewandowski joining Bayern in the summer, Mandzukic could be pushed out of the exit door by Pep Guardiola.
The boss has revealed that on loan left-back Ryan Bertrand does have a future at the club. The defender is currently playing for the side Chelsea are due to face tomorrow; Aston Villa.
“The decision to let him go was good because he’s playing and what he needed was to play in every game. But maybe next season he is with us,” said Mourinho.
Spanish newspaper Marca has revealed Athletic Bilbao have given up any hope of signing Cesar Azpilicueta from Chelsea. The full back has been one of Jose Mourinho’s most consistent players and has performed admirably when he’s been asked to play on either side of the defence.
TalkSport has confirmed Sam Hutchinson will stay with loan side Sheffield Wednesday for a further month. The 24-year-old has made two starts for the Championship side after spending the first part of the season with Vitesse Arnhem on loan.
In other news, Mourinho has questioned the decision to overlook Eden Hazard as the Premier League Player of the Month. Mourinho says it ‘makes him laugh’ that Hazard enters March with no reward for his efforts throughout February.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
