full swing yet José Mourinho is not
jumping on board. While Louis van
Gaal and his friend from across
Manchester, Manuel Pellegrini, are
flexing their financial muscles, the man
they are trying to catch is fine-tuning a
squad which was the strongest and,
ultimately, the best in the Premier
League last season.
Yes, United have rapidly brought in
quality at a cost. City’s £49m purchase
of Raheem Sterling is a stark indicator
of how serious their domestic ambitions
remain. Oh, and naturally Petr Cech, a
bedrock in the Portuguese’s first two
English titles, will become invaluable to
Arsenal.
Yet as Mourinho sits in Chelsea’s
Montreal base dressed in club blue, glint
firmly in eye, there are no pangs of
panic. Instead, bullish talk comes of his
champions being given the chance to
prove themselves even more
accomplished this time around. After all,
Manchester’s mammoth spend is their
prerogative. The only new faces at
Chelsea have been like-for-like
purchases – Radamel Falcao , who will
join up with the squad in New York on
Tuesday following an extended break
after the Copa América, for Didier
Drogba and Amir Begovic for Cech.
Mourinho, like every other manager in
world football, is an admirer of the
Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. He is
confident of landing Everton’s John
Stones, who will be the target of a
renewed offer this coming week. Yet
Mourinho will not be hamstrung if
Stones, Pogba or anyone else for that
matter who does not fancy a move to
Stamford Bridge. He is happy with his
lot.
-Observer
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