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There's nothing that interesting to report*, at least news-wise from Jose Mourinho's pre-West Ham press conference. Some questions about when Mohamed Salah is arriving in England (tomorrow -- he won't play); an update on Fernando Torres and Marco van Ginkel (the former's out for a couple of weeks, the latter will probably get some time with the reserves as the season winds down); a question about further buys (not happening, says the boss) but nothing unexpected.
*Ok, the Courtois thing is interesting.
So the focus is mostly on Mourinho's opinion of his squad and the transfer dealings, and, well, those are interesting. The manager pointed out that the Blues have essentially swapped Juan Mata and Kevin de Bruyne for Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah, and the de Bruyne for Matic part of that swap was the lynchpin to Chelsea's transfer strategy this January.
Mourinho notes, correctly, that the squad had two many wingers and number ten types and not enough in the midfield, and that needed to be addressed. Matic, despite being cup tied for the Champions League, fills a big need for the Blues, and the priority was re-balancing for the future rather than going all-out this season. Now Mourinho's happy with how his squad looks (and it does look far better with Matic's arrival even if it needs more help in midfield), and the buying is, apparently, done:
"Unless an incredible surprising deal happens with one of our players - and because of that we have to react - I don't believe [we'll buy]"
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) January 28, 2014
All in all, it's hard to fault the Blues for their transfer strategy they put in place. They've upgraded the team, and they've upgraded it for a long time. Onwards! Upwards!
