Willian set for Blues move as wily boss Mourinho gazumps Tottenham
Spurs appeared poised to announce a deal for the Anzhi Makhachkala forward after he completed a medical, but Chelsea have now hijacked the deal after making their long-standing interest known.
A deal was quickly agreed between the Blues and the Russian club and Willian has been keen to move to Stamford Bridge since first becoming aware of a potential switch to Chelsea two years’ ago.
“I think he’s already made his decision,” Mourinho said.
The self-styled ’Special One’ nodded in the affirmative when asked if that was Chelsea.
He added: “I don’t like to speak before time because football can be crazy. I know what the player wants, so in this moment we cannot hide, that it’s a possibility.”
Willian is still to undergo a medical at Stamford Bridge, but if he signs it strikes a blow for Mourinho over former staff member Andre Villas-Boas, once of Chelsea and now Spurs boss.
Mourinho understands the need for medicals before contracts being agreed, but also spoke of the danger of a deal being gazumped.
“The best thing to do is to do the medical in secret,” Mourinho added.
“After that when you sign the contract with the club and the player, you say ‘done’.”
Mourinho had insisted Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney was his sole target, but revealed he had alternative options, too.
Willian is “an extra target”, said Mourinho, who plans a third bid for Rooney following Monday’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
Mourinho added: “I couldn’t say much in previous press conferences.
“I have to answer your questions and try to be honest, but at the same time try to hide a few things.
“I’m happy with my squad, but every one of us managers, we say we are happy, but we are always unhappy.
“We always want something of more quality and we never close the door to the possibility of adding more quality.”
Mourinho anticipates departures, but only temporarily.
“If somebody’s coming, somebody will leave,” Mourinho said.
“The point is not to sell. I want a 22-player squad. If somebody comes, somebody leaves.
“Do we need to sell? No, we don’t. Do we need to loan? Probably, yes.
“I don’t like to work with big squads. I like to work with a small group of players and I think 22 is the perfect number to answer to our needs in four different competitions.”
Playmaker Juan Mata will not depart. The Chelsea player of the year for the past two seasons has been linked with a move, a prospect Mourinho dismissed.
“No, (it is) speculation,” Mourinho said.
“He’s a player we all like, he’s a player we all want to keep and we want more quality in the team, we don’t want less quality.
“We want to add quality to the quality we have. Juan is not a player we want to lose.”
Chelsea have been told repeatedly that Rooney is not for sale, but still Mourinho is chasing his man.
“When you own a player, when you have a contract with a player for a long time, even if the player wishes to leave — and sometimes that happens,” Mourinho said.
“That contradiction happens. The player wants to leave, the club wants to keep (him).
“We (managers) have to make a decision one way or another way. We have to persuade the player to stay, or the player persuades us to sell.”
Asked how he rates Chelsea’s chances of signing Rooney, Mourinho said: “I don’t care. In this moment, I don’t care.
“I have a big match to play on Monday. I don’t care about new players.”
Mourinho says he will not be too disheartened if Chelsea fail to recruit a striker before the September 2 transfer deadline.
“(I will) not (be) disappointed, but we are going to try until the last day, to add more quality to the team, to add more options,” he said.
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