MOURINHO CALM OVER ROONEY AS LUKAKU SHINES

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said he was “calm” over his high-stakes bid for Wayne
Rooney after emerging star Romelu Lukaku burnished his growing reputation with another two
goals in Jakarta.
Mourinho indicated there had been no new offer for Rooney after Manchester United rejected
an initial bid. But he also said Chelsea were sticking by their decision not to target any other
players.
“No,” said Mourinho, after Chelsea’s 8-1 hammering of Indonesia All-Stars late on Thursday,
when asked if there had been movement on the transfer situation.
“In this moment we have what you know… that bid that was public and official, and after that
nothing else and we are calm, as we told you. We are calm because we are happy with what we
have.”
The Portuguese manager has much riding on the Rooney bid with Chelsea looking at no other
players after the signings of Germany forward Andre Schurrle, 22, Holland midfielder Marco van
Ginkel, 20, and veteran Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, 40.
But he has also been boosted by the return from loan spells of 22-year-old Belgium midfielder
Kevin de Bruyne — currently nursing a knee injury — and powerhouse striker Lukaku, who has
bagged four goals on Chelsea’s three-game Asian tour.
Lukaku, who struck the winner from the penalty spot in Bangkok, and was also on target in
Kuala Lumpur, added a close-range header and side-footed finish on Thursday to press his
claims for regular first team football next season.
Mourinho said erratic, 50 million pounds ($77 million) Spanish striker Fernando Torres should
be pleased to have competition for a starting spot from the imposing Lukaku, even without
Rooney in the squad.
“I think Fernando should be happy because we have competition on the team and I think it’s
good for everybody in every position,” he said.
“So Fernando, I think he will be pleased because for some time at Chelsea he was basically the
young striker, after that it was Demba Ba, arriving in January… and now we have three
strikers.”
He added that veteran England midfielder Frank Lampard would resume training next week after
an Achilles injury as Chelsea head for four more pre-season games in the United States.
Chelsea won the Premier League twice during Mourinho’s first spell in charge and they are
seen as a serious threat to title-holders Manchester United and 2012 winners Manchester City,
who are both blooding new managers.
And Mourinho will hope to steal a march on United by racking up a three-point lead before
they meet on August 26, after scheduling arrangements handed Chelsea two home games at
the start of the season to the champions’ one match, away to Swansea.
“I’m never too worried with the fixtures with the calendar, when you play, when you play at
home, when you play away, when you play against a rival,” Mourinho said.
“I’m not worried about it. We just start against Hull City, we will try to win and after that
comes (Aston) Villa, Man United… match after match and we’ll see what happens.” AFP