1. Juan Mata close to new deal: Chelsea are set to banish speculation linking playmaker Juan Mata with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer as they prepare to offer the Spaniard a lucrative new contract. Fans favourite Mata has been targeted by Barcelona this transfer window, while the 25- year-old was also last week linked with a move to Manchester United in part-exchange for Wayne Rooney. However, Chelsea were quick to dismiss the rumour – something the club do not usually make a point of doing – and are now set to confirm Mata’s status in west London by tying him down to a long-term contract. The Spanish international joined Chelsea from Valencia two years ago on a five-year deal and has won the club’s Player of the Year award in both of his seasons with the Blues, cementing his place as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. And he is now set to sign a deal keeping him at the club until 2018, with his weekly wage increasing from £70,000 to £100,000. There was concern over Mata’s place in the Chelsea side following the arrival of Jose Mourinho, but despite the Portuguese remaining quiet over the future of all of the Blues’ players, he has since beenmore positive about Mata’s place in his plans. The former Valencia man, along with Oscar, Fernando Torres, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta who all participated in this summer’s Confederations Cup, are all set to rejoin their Chelsea team-mates at the weekend as the Blues take their pre-season tour to America. 2. De Bruyne to miss rest of tour: Chelsea midfielder Kevin de Bruyne was forced to leave the Premier League club’s tour of Asia due to injury on Monday. De Bruyne suffered knee and ankle injuries while scoring during the first half of Sunday’s 4-1 win over a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur. The 21-year-old was taken off on a stretcher but was able to join his teammates on the bench for the final quarter of the match at the Shah Alam Stadium. Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said initial assessments suggested the injury was not as bad as first feared. But De Bruyne underwent further tests in Malaysia on Monday and it was decided he would return to London, ruling him out of the final match of the Asia tour in Jakarta. “Leaving to London tonight. Fully medical check up there. Feeling ok. Hopefully a good result after the check up,” De Bruyne tweeted. Chelsea added on Twitter: “Kevin De Bruyne will return to London overnight for an MRI, after which we’ll have a clearer picture of his injury.” Following tomorrow’s match with BNI Indonesia All Stars, Chelsea will travel to the United States and play Inter Milan in Indianapolis on Aug 1. De Bruyne spent last season on loan at German outfit Werder Bremen following his 2012 move to Stamford Bridge from Genk. But Mourinho is keen to integrate younger players into his squad and De Bruyne is likely to feature regularly for the Blues once he recovers from this setback. 3. Rooney could be signed by end of August: Chelsea have made Rooney their only target during the transfer window but, with many of the biggest transfers interlinked, there is considerable uncertainty. One certainty for Chelsea, according to Mourinho, is that none of his players will be sold this summer. Of the transfer window generally, Mourinho said: “The sooner you have the players the better. You know the squad you have, you know what you have to work with, you have time for that. “The market is open until 31 August and many clubs are waiting to the last moment to make their decisions, and those decisions affect a number of other clubs. “The one who sells has to go and buy, then they have to buy to replace, so no club is safe. “Until the last minute, a club can go there and steal a player. I don’t mean steal a player but steal the balance that a manager has when he’s working with a team. “In that aspect, we are okay because we don’t have players to sell, so none of my players is leaving under any circumstances. “Many teams will be under pressure until the last moment without knowing how the squad is going to be.” Mourinho also denied playing “mind games” with Manchester United David Moyes, saying he had only ever paid him compliments. “If to say my colleague in United is a great coach, deserves success, deserves time to work, didn’t win trophies at Everton because it’s difficult to win trophies…if that is playing mind games, what would you say if I speak bad about him?” he said. (oscar11)
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 04:50:35 +0000
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