Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has vehemently denied reports that either Juan Mata or David Luiz will be leaving the club.
Both players were linked as being possible bait in Chelsea’s bid for Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.
But although Mourinho has confirmed the Blues are keen on the unsettled England forward, he insists Mata – Chelsea’s player of the year last season – and fans favourite Luiz are staying.
When asked if either player would be leaving, Mourinho replied: “No chance”.
Chelsea confirmed on Wednesday that they had made a bid for Rooney, with Mourinho later revealing that the 27-year-old is currently his only transfer target.
Speaking following Chelsea’s arrival in Malaysia for the next part of the club’s pre-season tour, Mourinho hinted that Rooney may need to move on now he is no longer regarded as a first-choice player at United.
“For a player to be selected for his country, normally he must be first choice at his club,” Mourinho said.
“He must play very regularly with the club and I think that’s the big motivation if they are thinking about the World Cup.
“So any player that wants to go to the World Cup, if they are a second choice in their club, they are in trouble.
“So I think this is a crucial year for that and probably many national team coaches are worried because they want their players to play regularly in their teams.”
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This post was last modified on 19/07/2013