Mourinho: 6 midfielders is enough

Aside from Chelsea's pursuit of John Stones and whatever's happening with the backup left back slot, it's been a very quiet time in rumour-land. We've heard rumblings about Pedro and Axel Witsel, but they're only rumblings, and Jose Mourinho has taken it upon himself to dispel the latter. And since the Daily Star took it upon themselves to copy his quote from behind the Times's paywall, we get to see his reasoning:

At this moment we have Nemanja Matic, Ramires, Cesc Fàbregas, [John Obi] Mikel, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Oscar. Six midfield players. I have no space for midfield players. So if somebody talks about midfield players, it’s not true.

But there is always a risk that somebody comes for one of our players, or one of our players shows an interest in leaving and we must be ready to answer.

Source: Time via Star.

Normally when we consider first-team central midfielders, we'd leave the last two out -- Loftus-Cheek is still young and unproven, while Oscar's primarily an attacking player -- but if they're really in the plans then this summer is making a great deal more sense. It's not really like Mourinho to use youngsters as internal signings, but if Loftus-Cheek is genuinely the answer to our problems with power in midfield many people are going to have to change their tune about the manager.

Of course, nowhere is there a denial that we'll get a midfielder this summer. Should someone decide to leave (and John Obi Mikel seems likeliest), all bets are off. But for right now, trust nothing.