Remy’s Arrival Response to Torres’ Departure, Says Mourinho

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says Loic Remy signing was in reaction to the departure of Fernando Torres and that the Frenchman could make his debut against Swansea on Saturday.

Torres, 30, joined Italian Serie A club AC Milan on a two-year-loan deal, moments after the club confirmed Remy’s arrival from Queens Park Rangers on a four-year deal, both on the eve of transfer deadline day.

“Remy was almost on the last day but that was just a consequence of Fernando moving to AC Milan, a reaction to an unexpected situation,” said Mourinho, who prior to the loan transfer told reporters he was unaware the Spaniard was leaving.

Chelsea Signed Loic Remy From QPR for £10.5m. Image: CFC.
Chelsea Signed Loic Remy From QPR for £10.5m. Image: CFC.

“But, even so, the club was ready to give us a striker we like and that we believe is perfect to be one of our three.”

Torres scored just 20 goals in 110 league appearances after joining the west London club from Liverpool for a then British record £50m in 2011. His present contract runs out in the summer of 2016 when his Milan loan expires.

Mourinho moved early in the summer to boost his attack options by seeing through a move for Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid and, also welcomed back Didier Drogba after the Ivorian left Galatsaray at the end of last season.

The long-departed likes of Samuel Eto’O and Demba Ba alongside Torres struggled in front of goal last season, as the ‘Blues’ ended without a trophy.

The Portuguese boss said he is delighted with the work carried out by the club over the summer, saying: “We think we did our business well,’ he said. ‘I think I did my part well by analysing the situation at a very early stage, which was during last season. After that my club did an amazing job with the way they dealt with the situation, securing the players we believe are the right ones.”

Jose Mourinho Says Remy's Arrival is In Response to Torres Departure. Image: Getty.
Jose Mourinho Says Remy’s Arrival is In Response to Torres Departure. Image: Getty.

And Remy, who scored the match winner against Spain in a friendly last weekend, could come in for the unfit Costa, who picked up an injury in the same match. However, Mourinho is hopeful Costa will be available tomorrow.

“As you know, Diego Costa came back injured, but that was last Saturday so we’ve had one week to work hard with the medical department,” explained Mourinho.

“He has a chance to play tomorrow. We have a training session now to confirm his condition and to make a final decision, but he was the only one that came back from their national team with a problem.”

While Mourinho lost the Barclays Manager of the Month award to Swansea boss Garry Monk, whose side are the other Premier League team- after Chelsea- with a 100% start to the season, the 25-year-old Brazilian-born Spain striker claimed the player’s award after scoring four goals during the first three matches of the season.

Jose Mourinho Speaking at His Pre-Game Ritual Ahead of Swansea Visit. Image:Getty via  CFC.
Jose Mourinho Speaking at His Pre-Game Ritual Ahead of Swansea Visit. Image:Getty via CFC.

“When we bought him we were very optimistic; his profile as a player and a person makes it easy to adapt. A player is also part of the team and we knew the team was going in a certain direction and waiting for a player like him to be there. His start has been good; three matches, three victories, four goals and good performances,” Mourinho said.

On Swansea’s impressive start to the season under Monk, who was only named permanent manager at the end of last season, Mourinho believes its no surprise given the unpredictable nature of English football.

With one of the two table-toppers set to drop point(s) for the first time in the new season when they meet at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho reiterates its is imperative his side retain focus and take each game one at a time.

“The first three matches are not more important than the second group of three and vice versa,’ said Mourinho. ‘We have nine points and we want to have 12, if that’s not possible than we want 10 at least. We go game by game, we won’t change direction in terms of what we want to do and what we have to do to play well and win matches.

“They have had a good team for a few years, since they were promoted. They have played very good football since (Michael) Laudrup’s time. Since the end of last season, I don’t think they lost any players, or if they did it wasn’t any of their important ones.

“They’ve bought well, invested seriously. Federico Fernandez is an Argentinian player, he was on the bench in the World Cup final. (Bafetimbi) Gomis has been a top striker in France, (Gylfi) Sigurdsson went back and is a very good player, so they did well to keep their good players and bring in others to help them improve. They are doing very well and Monk deserved to win Manager of the Month.

“I would expect them to have six or seven points, not nine. But everybody knows in the Premier League any result can happen. They had a surprise result with a victory at Old Trafford. They then did what they had to do by winning two home games against teams with similar ambitions. They have nine points, they are at the top of the league, so respect to them.”