Mourinho will look to go Centre “Back to the Future” if Terry leaves Chelsea

By All Blue Daze. Although there’s been much talk and yards of column inches deployed on the subject, discussing Chelsea’s obvious need for a striker to boost their title aspirations for next season shouldn’t distract attention from significant action at the opposite end of the park, writes All Blue Daze.

The John Terry will-he-won’t-he saga regarding another deal at the club remains unresolved. With talk of a 50 per cent pay cut if any new agreement is to be reached, there has to be doubt as to whether Chelsea’s talismanic skipper will stay.  Offstage noises have been unclear at best, contradictory at worst, but one thing seems clear; that nothing about situation is indeed, clear.

With things in such a state of flux, speculation about Chelsea’s intentions is beginning to ramp up. The transfer merry-go-round is a phrase oft loved by writers on the beautiful game, and nothing gets that old carousel whirling better than a bit of doubt. So, let’s take a seat, pay our fare and enjoy a bit of conjecture about what happens if the captain leaves the Bridge, shall we?

With the season now on its final lap, two issues seem clear about Chelsea’s centre-back positions for next season. Firstly, that Gary Cahill will be part of it, and secondly that David Luiz will not. Cahill has had an outstanding season at the club, maturing into the sort of player that Mourinho would consider as one of his ‘untouchables’. The old cliché of being the first name on the team sheet is probably not far wide of the mark for the 28-year-old. For Luiz however, the outlook is very different.

Although it was rumoured that Mourinho batted away approaches from both Barcelona and PSG for the player last summer, it would be difficult to conjure up an image of a defender less suited to the way Mourinho likes to play. Defenders should defend first. Secondly they should defend, and if there’s any time left, they should concentrate on defending. The maverick approach of Luiz clearly ill-fits this approach, hence the manager’s lack of trust to play him in his favoured role. If the Brazilian stays at the club next season which, with Barcelona already linked with a renewed approach, appears doubtful, it may be with his prime role being a holding midfielder, where Mourinho has deployed him of late, and not without success.  Taking a chunk of Catalan cash in the interests of FFP may be the more likely route however.

In January, the club was quick to jump ahead of a forming queue and snap up the robust but raw French defender Kurt Zouma in a £12million deal, before immediately loaning him back to St-Etienne. At the time, Mourinho remarked:

“If we don’t do it now, probably we can’t do it in the summer because other clubs were also very strong on him. So we did it, now he stays at St-Etienne, pre-season he will join us. We will see if it is to stay or if it is to go on loan. He’s another young player in the profile of some Chelsea signed in the last couple of years. He is a young player for a position where we also need for the future.”

The calculating Portuguese clearly had an eye to what may be an issue this summer, but if not, will almost certainly be one the following year. Whether Zouma “is to stay or if it is to go on loan” will clearly be dependent on the options Mourinho has.

A key factor in such thinking may be the outcome of a reported approach by the Chelsea manager, targeting former club Real Madrid. A number of press outlets suggest that a move for French international Raphael Varane could be on the cards. The defender was brought to Spain for a bargain £9million from Lens, following a strong recommendation from Zinedine Zidane. He figured strongly during Mourinho’s tenure at the Bernabeu, but this season has seen him unable to displace Carlo Ancelotti’s favoured regular centre-back pairing of Pepe and Sergio Ramos, following an injury.

Earlier this year, the young defender, now just turned 21, was named by The Guardian as one of the ten most promising young players in Europe. At the time, The Guardian quoted him as saying “When you’re 20, you just want to play.” With that phrase in mind, and press comments that Varane would “consider” an approach from Chelsea, Mourinho may well be encouraged to make an approach. The long-term option of linking Varane with Zouma in what could be the French international pairing of the near future has clear attractions.

There is, however, a possible complication. When isn’t there? Any approach could be stymied by a potential move from Manchester City for Real Madrid’s Portugal star, Pepe. Although Martin Demichelis has looked less uncomfortable since he settled in the Premier League environment, there are only so many times that his experience – and Vincent Kompany – can cover for the Argentine’s lack of pace. The defender was surely only seen as a short term cover for the injured Serb defender Matija Nastasic, but as the injury is now taking on a worrying aspect with the matter appearing no closer to being resolved, Nastasic’s long term prospects at the club may be in jeopardy. A move for a permanent solution may therefore be on the cards, and if Pellegrini is looking for a robust and experienced defender, capable of playing at the highest level, Pepe fits the bill.

There is another road Mourinho may like to consider, although it’s not one he travels very often. A couple of weeks ago, due to injuries and suspensions the Chelsea manager was compelled to throw young Czech defender Tomas Kalas into the fray for the game with Liverpool at Anfield. This was against the Liverpool team on a goal-gorging spree and boasting Suarez, Sturridge and Sterling. That the youngster emerged with a clean sheet and enhanced reputation should have done much to advance his case for regular first team action. Given Mourinho’s penchant for buying ready-made replacements however, that may not be the case. Well, not at Stamford Bridge anyway.

Mourinho was recently snapped in the stands at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea’s youth team captured the FA Cup for the third time in five years. Such a record is testament to the success of the club at that level, but at the same time, a fairly damning indictment that none of the players from those teams has forged a genuine place in the first eleven considerations of Mourinho. A handful, such as Nathan Ake, have flirted with the squad, but remain peripheral at best in the thoughts of the manager.

Ideally, for Mourinho, by next season Chelsea would have a centre-back pairing as reliable as Terry and Carvalho were when the club won back-to-back league titles. Cahill is a long way towards being one half of that solution. The remaining element is less certain however. If he can solve the conundrum with Varane, Zouma or even (whisper-it-so-softly), Kalas however, Mourinho may feel that he’s gone ‘back to the future.’

What transfer activity are you expecting at Stamford Bridge this summer? Will the likes of Cole, Lampard and Terry stay on for one more year?

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