Mourinho dodges Pogba questions as Juventus set sights on possible replacement

Almost a month ago, José Mourinho spoke to the press about our rivals' transfer strategy and how they were "buying the title" while Chelsea needed to learn how to win "without the big investments." But two bad performances were apparently enough to change our outlook to this transfer window as we moved for Baba Rahman and Pedro while being heavily linked to John Stones and Paul Pogba transfers. It was expected that Mourinho would be asked to address Pogba this Friday in his weekly conference.

"[Paul Pogba] is a Juventus player. I cannot speak about a Juventus player. I know Massimiliano Allegri (Juventus coach) was speaking about Oscar and Ramires all summer, but I don't do that about Juventus players. Only Allegri can speak about him, not me."

José Mourinho; Source: The London Evening Standard

Meanwhile, according to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus have contacted Real Madrid regarding Spanish midfielder Asier Illarramendi. Illarramendi appeared in 30 La Liga games for Madrid last season, but was a starter in 10 of them. He has been linked to many clubs but if Juventus are stepping up their chase, it might indicate that the Italian side are preparing for a departing midfielder.