Jose Mourinho hints Manchester United risk putting themselves 'under pressure' if they delay Wayne Rooney transfer to Chelsea
Chelsea are preparing an improved bid for the England striker - aware United would sell for around £30m
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Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho warned today that one rival Premier League club would be left short of players and “under pressure” as Chelsea prepare to move on the Wayne Rooney saga with an increased bid for the Manchester United striker.
Asked about David Moyes' belief that even the big deals will be concluded late in the transfer window, Mourinho said that some clubs who lose players later on risk destroying the "balance" of their squads when the transfer window closes on 2 September. Chelsea are aware that United would sell for around £30m and are considering an improvement on their original £22m bid.
Mourinho, speaking at a press conference to welcome the club to Indonesia, the final leg of their tour of Asia, said: "It depends on the philosophy of each one. 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. But, yes, he [Moyes] is right. The market is open until 2 September 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 ok 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."
Chelsea play an Indonesia All Stars XI on Thursday at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium. Asked by a Jakarta-based reporter whether he was employing "mind games" against Moyes, Mourinho denied that was the case.
He said: "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 there ... if that is playing mind games, what would you say if I spoke bad about him? The best thing is not to speak, and if I don't speak."
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