:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/27379793/167935602.0.jpg)
Juan Mata's transfer to Manchester United caught Chelsea by surprise, and although they've managed to bring in a replacement (for a certain value of 'replacement', anyway) before officially selling the 25-year-old it seems like it was something of a mad dash to get it done:
Mourinho: "We tried to work on that and see which could be good options for us. So when we try for Salah, we go from zero."
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) January 24, 2014
Mourinho: "We didn't even know who the player [Salah] agent is. The first step was agreement with Basel... subject to medical."
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) January 24, 2014
I don't really like this. When you go after players because you have to, rather than because you really want to -- and no matter how much Jose Mourinho praises him we went after Salah because of being caught out by Mata's transfer -- you're likely to get burned. That's not to say that Salah won't turn out well for us, but panic buys tend to mean that risk and reward are skewed in unhelpful ways.
Let's hope that this deal breaks the mould.
