Jose Mourinho has been previously open about his admiration for Liverpool legend and ex-England captain Steven Gerrard. He was very close to signing him for Chelsea in 2005. Now that he is leaving England for good, Mourinho has joked that he will try and sign him on a load deal in an answer to a question about Gerrard put forward to him by BBC 5 Live.

Mourinho said that he is not happy when the best players in the Premier League leave and subsequently lower the quality of the league. He believes that Gerrard still has enough ability to play in the Premier League for at least one more season. Incidentally Frank Lampard, who was released by Chelsea at the end of last season to Major League Soccer club New York City, came back on loan and has played this season with the defending champions Manchester City. His inclusion has benefitted the champions in more ways than one.

Juan Cuadrado, the Colombian star who plays for Fiorentina, is a transfer target for the Blues. He impressed with his performance in the right full back as well as right wing playing for his national team at the last year’s World Cup. The management at Cheese reckon that he is ready for bigger and better things. He has been earmarked for a possible role at the right side of Deigo Costa in the attacking third.

Unfortunately for Chelsea they already have a number of players surplus to their requirement. It is learned that Mourinho would like to offload them before bringing in Cuadrado. Andre Schurrle is one such player who has offers from German clubs Wolfsburg as well as Bayer Leverkusen. The other such player is Mohamed Salah who was signed from Liverpool last season but has failed to impress the boss in any way. Salah is wanted by Italian club Roma and Turkish club Besiktas.

To contact the author of this article email a.biswas@IBTimes.com.au

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