Jose Mourinho is refusing to relent in his pursuit of Wayne Rooney. The Chelsea manager has already had two bids – the latest believed to be in the region of €30 million – rejected by Manchester United for the unsettled forward, with David Moyes stressing the 27-year-old will not be sold.
But, with Rooney understood to be angry with Moyes’s stance and ready to leave the Premier League champions, Mourinho knows there is enough discontent to keep alive his hope of bringing the England forward to Stamford Bridge.
Rooney’s advisers are fully aware of the Portuguese’s intentions and if, as expected, the striker hands in a transfer request within the next week, that will encourage a third Chelsea bid to test United’s resolve further.
Mourinho, who suffered his first pre-season defeat on Wednesday after Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Real Madrid to win the inaugural Guinness International Champions Cup, will not give up without a fight. Images of Rooney training with United's reserves yesterday would have been duly noted at Chelsea's Washington DC base.
"We are far away so we are not in England to know every detail but we are doing things in the correct way," said Mourinho. "We made the bid and Manchester United have reacted. Let's see what happens. But we can't do more than we are doing now.
'Ethical way'
"We are doing things legally, making the official bid directly to the club, no interviews or comments or direct relations with the player, no contact, absolutely nothing. We are doing everything in an ethical way, so let's see if things change.
“There is no time limit. We have our squad of strikers. We have identified the player as one we would like to have with us. We have done it in an ethical way and we are going to do that until the last day. And we will see how it comes.”
However, the need for a stellar striker remains Mourinho’s number one priority.
One player who will not be leaving is the Brazilian defender David Luiz. Chelsea instantly rejected Barcelona's €40 million bid on Tuesday, with Mourinho leaving the La Liga champions in no doubt about what would happen if they try again.
"It's lost time for them. My advice to them is to go to the second player on their list because they are wasting their time," he said. "We don't want to lose our best players. No chance."
Guardian Service
