Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho has revealed that the Premier League champions require one crucial signing this summer, and suggests that they could be quite in the market.
The Portuguese manager has confessed that he must replace Filipe Luis in the coming weeks, with the left-back allegedly set to be sold within the next day:
“In this moment we need a left-back because I think we are selling Filipe Luis now or tomorrow,” as quoted by the Daily Star.
“We need to go the market, we need to find a club that accepts a bid until 31 August, and we are going for a left-back.
“In other positions we have no space.”
The comments of the former Real Madrid boss imply that the 52-year-old’s transfer wish list may be minimal this summer, and there could thus be few to follow the arrival of Radamel Falcao and Asmir Begovic [via Sky Sports] in west London.
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According to AS, Filipe Luis is on the verge of re-signing for Atletico Madrid – just one year on from putting pen-to-paper on a three-year contract with the Blues [via BBC Sport].
The Spanish newspaper state that Atleti and Chelsea have agreed a transfer fee of €15m for the Brazil international; however, Diego Simeone is said to be waiting to sell Guilherme Siqueira – to meet Financial Fair Play regulations – before completing the deal for Filipe Luis.
Nonetheless, Mourinho expects the 29-year-old to return to the Estadio Vicente Calderon soon, as stated above, and reports are heavily suggesting that FC Augsburg’s Abdul Baba Rahman will take over the Brazilian’s Stamford Bridge role.
The Guardian state that the Blues are leading the chase for the Ghanian’s signature, and the English giants are expected to table an opening bid of £14m – £3.75m short of the Bundesliga outfit’s £17.5m valuation.