:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/26605231/460755703.0.jpg)
Jose Mourinho's pre-match press conference today seemingly had less to do with Hull than it did with the transfer market. Mourinho confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne could well be heading for the door, mentioned that we've had no offers on Juan Mata or Michael Essien, and basically laughed off the silly Eden Hazard to PSG noise.
There was something else that caught my eye, though, following a question about incoming transfers. Mourinho was asked by a journalist about the possibility of players such as Jackson Martinez or Fredy Guarin joining in January, and the boss didn't give a whole lot of encouragement to those particular rumors.
Mourinho says "no", he's not interested in players like Guarin and Jackson Martinez.
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) January 10, 2014
Martinez has never seemed like a particularly likely target, so there is little surprise that Chelsea aren't currently interested in his services. The player doesn't really check the boxes that Mourinho mentioned this summer, he's not all that young, he's currently cup-tied, and there are probably better options out there if we're looking to spend that sort of money.
The sudden lack of interest in Guarin is a bit of a surprise though, as Chelsea have been linked to the player for the better part of a month and have definitely been in contact with both Inter Milan and the player's agent. The change of direction would seem to indicate that either something in the negotiations didn't sit particularly well with Chelsea, or that the Blues seem to have shifted their focus to someone else entirely. There's also the possibility that Mourinho is simply downplaying our interest publicly in order to push one of the other parties, hoping that one or the other get desperate and come down in their demands.
Regardless, it looks less likely now that we'll be seeing a deal for Guarin materialize in the very near future. Hopefully that doesn't mean we don't bolster our midfield options at all, as we've been in dire need of help in that regard for several seasons now.
