Jose Mourinho ready to swing his Stamford Bridge axe.
Jose Mourinho has ran out of patience with a number of his first team squad and has received the backing of Blues owner Roman Abramovich to make big money moves in both of the next two transfer windows, though moves for high profile additions will be in part funded by player sales.
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CaughtOffside understands that Mourinho has been in lengthy talks with Abramovich over the past week and the Russian billionaire is ready to back the returning Chelsea boss to the hilt, confident that the Portuguese boss is the man to guide the West London club to the Premier League title and a renewed push to capture the Champions League.
Mourinho is ready to adopt a quality over quantity approach to his Chelsea squad and is ready to listen to offers to many of his playing staff with as many as ten set for a possible exit either in January or next summer.
Amazingly Chelsea have a first team squad numbering over 50, with 26 players sent out on loan deals, and as such the number of players Mourinho is willing to offload will be significantly higher than the number of top targets he wishes to usher in.
Mourinho is ready to listen to big money offers for Spaniard Juan Mata, who he opted to leave out of his first team starting line-up for some weeks in preference to using Oscar and when the former Valencia man has been used the Chelsea manager has not been impressed with his effectiveness.
Indeed the 25 year old’s return of just two assists and zero goals in 12 Premier League fixtures is hard to fathom given the massive impact Mata had made in his first two seasons at Chelsea. PSG and Atletico Madrid are said to be interested and Abramovich would want at least £30m from any potential sale.
Similarly David Luiz found himself frozen out of first team affairs with Mourinho making veteran John Terry an ever present and then preferring to team the Chelsea captain with Gary Cahill and the Blues have managed just two clean sheets in the eight Premier League matches the Brazilian has figured in. Barcelona are known to be keen on the former Benfica man but again a fee of £30m+ will be required for the fan favourite.
Ashley Cole is unlikely to be offered a new contract and the 33 year old England man will have to consider his options at the end of what may well turn out to be a frustrating season for the left-back who made his first Premier League start in almost two months on Boxing Day.
Mourinho is happy to retain his faith in Czech keeper Petr Cech and with youngster Thibaut Courtois said to be unwilling to return to Chelsea just to warm the bench, with the Belgian now into his third successful season at Atletico Madrid, the Blues boss is willing to listen to offers for the 21 year old.
John Obi Mikel is another player Mourinho is willing to make available, with the Nigerian battler having started less than half the club’s Premier League fixtures.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has looked to publicly back Fernando Torres as much as possible but is said to be livid with the Spanish international’s inability to convert chances and Roman Abramovich is now willing to cut his losses on the £50m man.
Torres is unlikely to garner even a third of the amount paid to Liverpool for his services but his record of just two goals in 13 Premier League fixtures will lead Mourinho to look to sell the 29 year old, with a move back to La Liga perhaps the most likely destination for the misfiring forward.
Belgian youngster Kevin de Bruyne was handed the chance to impress having been drafted into the Chelsea squad after an impressive season on loan at Werder Bremen and good displays in pre-season, but the 22 year old has proved ineffective in Premier League action and Mourinho will sell the former Racing Genk for a fairly low fee in order to clear space in his squad.
Former Newcastle United forward Demba Ba hasn’t come close to replicating his Magpies form at Stamford Bridge and is now way down the Chelsea pecking order and with new striking additions imminent the Blues are willing to accept offers of around £8-10m for the 28 year old.
Jose Mourinho has opted to use right-back Cesar Azpilicueta as an alternative to Ashley Cole which in itself says pretty much all you need to know about Ryan Bertrand‘s limited role in first team matters. The 24 year old has started just one Premier League fixture and is likely to be on his way.
Cameroon international Samuel Eto’o was brought in on a short term deal in the summer, perhaps seen by Jose Mourinho as a stop gap solution to strengthen his attack. The move hasn’t prospered and the 32 year old is likely to leave either in January or at the end of the season, with a move to the MLS said to be likely.
The main object of interest to Jose Mourinho comes in the form of AS Monaco forward Radamel Falcao, who the Chelsea manager feels is a realistic target despite the fact that the Colombian only moved to the big spending Ligue 1 side a few month ago.
Abramovich is ready to finance a £65m bid for Falcao, who is unhappy at the principality club, an offer that would spare AS Monaco’s blushes as it would represent a profit of over £10m on a player who feels his development at the Stade Louis II is restricted.
Chelsea will have to persuade Falcao to take a pay-cut on his current massive tax free income but Mourinho is confident he can lure the former FC Porto and Ateltico Madrid man to the Premier League, perhaps even as early as next month.
Mourinho will also look to prize Fredy Guarin from Inter Milan, with the box to box performer seen by the Blues boss as an improvement on what he currently has in his current squad.
Such a move would perhaps confirm the likelihood that Frank Lampard would not be handed a new contract though Mourinho is said to be keen on keeping the England veteran though he would be expected to fill a more limited role than he may be open to at this late stage of his career.
Chelsea will offer £20m for Colombian Guarin and could offer a player exchange into the bargain.
The third target on Jose Mourinho’s wish-list comes in the form of French international Eliaquim Mangala, who he feels is the ideal long term replacement for John Terry and a player who can immediately challenge Gary Cahill for a spot in the club’s starting eleven.
With David Luiz having fallen out of favour Mourinho believes that the 22 year old FC Porto man is an ideal defensive capture and Chelsea are willing to offer up to £25m for the rock solid youngster.
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