You have to admire Jose Mourinho for keeping Chelsea up with the Premier League pacesetters. Without getting Chelsea close to top form he has navigated his way through the first half of the season with an excellent points tally and much left in the tank.
We think that Chelsea will remain competitive and provide the stiffest competition to Manchester City for the title this season. If Mourinho can get his team to move up a couple of gears they will surely be challenging on all fronts.
But The Special One has remained coy, as ever, about the prospect of bringing in new blood in January to add to the purchase of the young prospect Bertrand Traore. He says he’s not buying a striker in January and news reports today may give an indication as to why.
The Telegraph, among others, suggests that the Chelsea boss is holding fire until the summer os that he can continue his pursuit of Wayne Rooney. With just 18 months left on his contract Manchester United have previously stated that, even if a new deal isn’t agreed, they are happy to let the contract run down in order to retain the player along as possible.
But The Telegraph reckons that, being over 3 years into his contract, Rooney can actually buy himself out in the summer. Of Mourinho’s desire for Rooney:
he is convinced he can land Wayne Rooney at the end of the season.
Even if United refuse to sell, Rooney would have the option of exploring the possibility of buying himself out of the final year of his contract.
Under Article 17 of Fifa’s regulations for the status and transfer of players, a player who signed a contract before the age of 28 is entitled to buy himself out of the contract three years after the deal was signed.
Rooney was 24 when he signed his last United contract on Oct 22, 2010, so his so-called ‘protected period’ officially ended on Oct 22, 2013
If David Moyes thinks he’s got it tough right now, losing Rooney would be an unmitigated disaster for Manchester United. We believe that Rooney has been the most important player in The Premier League in his time at United. He always been the talisman and, at times, he’s kept United in games almost singlehandedly. If Rooney does leave for Chelsea the baton of power will have well and truly passed from Old Trafford to London and The Etihad.
Chelsea will probably look at other options but Rooney is exactly the sort of player that Mourinho likes to lead the line. He’s hugely powerful but also has a superb first touch and the sort of ball control that makes him look like he’s wearing padded slippers.
It’s a story which keeps rumbling on and, until United extend his contract, the speculation will surely persist.
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