A blue-collar forward with more than just magic tricks

Jose Mourinho was at a media presentation in central London last night, offering plenty of opinions about the World Cup ahead of his work on it as a pundit, but refusing to really elaborate on his day-to-day job and — specifically — Chelsea’s impending purchase of Diego Costa. He was keeping quiet on that, as news developed of the Atletico Madrid striker completing a medical on Monday.

Then again, the Portuguese couldn’t exactly have said more than has already been said. Mourinho has made no secret of his desire for a striker of a “suitable profile”; their discussions with Atletico over Costa were well known, and there’s no obscuring Chelsea’s primary issue.

They essentially lost the league title last season because they didn’t score enough goals — not least against the likes of Norwich and Sunderland at home — and the manager frequently lamented the strike-rate of his forwards.