Mata and Fernando Torres for PL opener
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is resigned to losing his star Spanish trio of Fernando Torres, Juan Mata and Cesar Azpilicueta with the players due to return to the club just 24 hours before their Premier League kickoff against Hull City on the 18th of August after playing in Spain’s friendly against Ecuador.
The World and European champions will take on Ecuador on the 14th of August with all three of Chelsea’s Spanish trio expected to be a part of Vicente del Bosque’s side for the match. And the Portuguese tactician is already planning his team excluding the three players with the additional 24 hours given for television coverage making it a possibility that they could still be a part of the squad and start on the bench.
The former Real Madrid boss admitted that his squad for the first match of the season will depend a lot on which players go away for international duty merely a couple of days before the start of the season. Mourinho also insisted that the likes of Fernando Torres and Juan Mata still have a future at the club despite reports claiming that the former Inter Milan boss doesn’t want the two along with David Luiz for the long term future of the club.
Mourinho stated that the two players are definitely a part of his future plans for the club and although all three were left out of the Chelsea’s team for their 8-1 hammering of a select Indonesian XI on Thursday, they will be a part of the squad come the new season.
Fernando Torres was the player who was linked strongly with a move to Barcelona but the comments made by Mourinho will give him a lot of confidence as he looks to find his feet again under a new manager.