Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has surprisingly distanced himself from the signing of centre-back Papy Djilobodji, intimating that the defender would not have been his choice.
The Pensioners were linked with a move for Everton defender John Stones throughout the summer, but ultimately ended up missing out on the England international as the Toffees held their ground [Mirror].
Realising that Stones was out of reach, the champions moved for FC Nantes defender Djilobodji, signing the Senegal international in a £4 million deal [BBC Sport].
The West African—who joined alongside Reading’s Michael Hector—will compete with the likes of John Terry, Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma for a spot in the heart of Chelsea’s defence.
Based on the Pensioners’ current defensive performances this season, he may fancy his chances of securing a starting berth. Heading into gameweek five, the Blues sit 13th in the EPL table, having managed only four points. They have conceded nine goals, the second-worst of all of the teams in the top flight.
However, Mourinho appears to have dampened any hopes the Senegal international might have of securing a starting berth, after insisting that the defender wasn’t his choice.
“It was not my choice. It was the choice of somebody I trust completely,” Mourinho began, speaking to the club’s official website.
“I don’t know every player. My job doesn’t allow me to travel, doesn’t allow me to spend hours and hours watching players.
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“And in some moments of the market, under certain circumstances are moments where you have to trust or not the people that you work with.
“In my case I trust, because the same person that told me that Djilabodi can be a good squad player for us, was the same person who told me that Zouma would be a great player.”
Djilobodji moved to Nantes in 2010, having previously featured for Normandy-based club US Senart-Moissy.