Chelsea in for Pepe?

[Gavmundo]

Jose Mourinho has hinted he is at loggerheads with owner Roman Abramovich over a proposed move for Porto defender Pepe.

Mourinho watched the 24-year-old Brazilian produce another fine display for Porto in the Portuguese champions' 1-1 draw at Benfica on Sunday.

The Chelsea boss has never hidden his admiration of the player but doubts he will be given the funds to push ahead with a deal.

With The Blues being able to call on the notable influences of John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho already in central defence, Mourinho admits Abramovich may view other areas of the squad as priorities for strengthening.

"Pepe impressed me a lot and was very good. Besides, I've been passionate about Pepe for a long time," Mourinho told TVI in Portugal.

"But I don't think that Chelsea want Pepe, because they don't have the money for him and they've already got the best two central defenders in the world with Terry and Carvalho."

Despite doubts over prospective newcomers, Mourinho believes his current crop are ready to find a new gear ahead of a UEFA Champions League quarter-final date with Valencia.

"I always feel we have something hidden inside of us, something hidden, that we can give. It is that extra bit. We now have a great opportunity to go through to the semi-finals for the second time in three years," he added.

[Port Wine]

I think Mourinho is on a spending frenzy. :lol:

Why would he want to make a bid for Pepe when he has Terry and Carvalho? I really don't understand why coaches feel they need to buy 5 or 6 new players every season. Don't they realise that there can only be 11 players on the pitch at once? :shocked: In two seasons you'll have enough new players to make up the starting eleven.

It's natural to want to buy 2 players every season in order to strengthen the weaker points of your team, but if there are too many newcomers, this will only create problems within the squad. Half of the players will think, "Am I going to get benched?" I think players need to feel a certain amount of stability in order to perform better on the pitch.

Pepe is having a good season this year. Last year he wasn't that special. He has acquired Portuguese citizenship and talked to Scolari about wanting to make the NT.

[Gavmundo]

Well seems like Roman has curbed his spending. Certainly where Mourinho is concerned anyway :lol: Players need to be very careful when deciding on moving to Chelsea. There are still a lot of players vying for a place in the starting lineup and it's not easy to establish yourself!

[Port Wine]

The problem with Pepe is that he can play very well in certain games, but in others, do something really silly that compromisses the team's result. He screws up once in a while which makes me kind of frustated. :mad2: This is one of the reasons I don't want him on the NT.

[O Maestro 10]

He went to Real Madrid.....