Jose Mourinho refused to comment on Chelsea’s pursuit of John Stones after admitting the Premier League champions had practised their defending this week.
The Blues are understood to have had four bids rejected so far – although Everton refused to confirm the latest reported £37 million offer – and are unlikely to lodge a further bid before Tuesday’s 18:00 (21:00, UAE time) deadline.
“I don’t speak about players from other teams,” said Mourinho, whose side play Crystal Palace today in his 100th Premier League home game at Stamford Bridge. “I have a good squad. I’m happy with the squad I have. If I get another player until the end of the market, good. If I don’t get, we go with what we have.”
Mourinho was asked about Everton boss Roberto Martinez’s belief that the transfer window should close before the competition begins. It is something the Portuguese has suggested previously, but he refused to respond.
“You think I’m going to comment on Roberto Martinez’s words?” Mourinho said. “Not generally, I don’t comment. I don’t comment on other opinions.”
Speculation of a Chelsea move for France midfielder Paul Pogba continues as the transfer deadline approaches, but Mourinho again declined to comment.
“I’m not going to do the ‘like’, ‘I would like’ of Pogba. He’s a Juventus player, I’m the Chelsea manager,” added Mourinho, who last week rebuked Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri for commenting on his fondness for Ramires and Oscar.
– Also: Ryan Babel involved in Twitter sexism row
– Keys and Gray: EPL week 4 game previews
– Taha Ismail: Politics, power and coaching Saudi Arabia
The Blues have also been linked with China right-back Zhang Linpeng from Guangzhou Evergrande, an interest which is understood to be genuine. Once more, Mourinho was silent.
Captain John Terry was sent off in the 3-2 win at The Hawthorns and is suspended, with Gary Cahill and Kurt Zouma likely to line-up in central defence. Chelsea have one loss in Mourinho’s 99 home games – against Sunderland in April 2014 – but have already conceded seven goals in three games this term, including a 3-0 loss at Man City.
“We did a few things (in training),” Mourinho said. “We defended with nine men. I didn’t work the defenders, I worked the team, because you cannot blame defenders for goals conceded, because a team is a team and a good team defends as a team.”
Titan Sports reporting (with quotes) that Chelsea have made an offer for China defender Zhang Linpeng. #CFC https://t.co/0EZXnjkyjx
— Christopher Atkins (@ChrisAtkins_) August 28, 2015
Mourinho insists Chelsea’s start, which began with a 2-2 home draw with Swansea, is no “drama” and that the five-point gap to leaders City is manageable.
“It’s not normal that in three matches you have two penalties against and you play with 10 men twice,” said Mourinho, who saw goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois sent off against Swansea.
“One match at home, two matches away, four points is not what we want, but four points is not a drama. When you are five points behind a leader in another league that can be complicated. In the Premier League it’s not complicated.”
