How Chelsea almost lost these players to Mourinho’s Tottenham
Chelsea would have lost two of their defenders to their London rivals, Tottenham during the summer transfer window after Portuguese boss Jose Mourinho made a failed attempt.
The North London outfit were desperate to strengthen their defence in the summer and the options available to Jose Mourinho were Chelsea duo Kurt Zouma and Antonio Rudiger, having worked with them when he was in charge at Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese had parted ways with Jan Vertonghen and needed a replacement.
The Bolus team denied Jose Mourinho his wish, and he ended up beating Man United to secure the signature of Sergio Reguilon from Real Madrid while Matt Doherty made the switch from Wolves. The North London outfit also secured the signature of Joe Rodon late in the window.
However, The Daily Mail reports that Antonio Rudiger already held positive talks with the Tottenham boss and was on the verge of completing the move only to have a last-minute change of mind due to fears over the backlash that could come from Chelsea fans.
French outlet L’Equipe also reports that Tottenham made efforts to secure the signature of Kurt Zouma. Jose Mourinho is believed to have a relationship with the player because he brought him to England in 2014 while he was the manager at Stamford Bridge, but the offer submitted was rejected.
However, Kurt Zouma is now becoming the next big name at Stamford Bridge with his commanding performance since his pairing with Thiago Silva at the start of the season.
He has sealed his place in the first team and is expected to be handed a new and improved deal with Chelsea. It would have been a big loss to the Blues team if they had lost the French defender, knowing that he is only going to get better by the day.