Jose Mourinho Is Spending Wisely for Chelsea in This Summer's Transfer Window

If Chelsea of the Roman Abramovich era were a child, it would be close to becoming a teenager right now.

A decade on after buying the club, the Russian's baby—if we can call it that—isn't quite yet reaching maturity, but is showing all the signs of becoming more responsible, acknowledging its actions and behaving in a less obnoxious manner.

And playing the role of the wiser, older sibling, Jose Mourinho is seemingly helping Chelsea negotiate their way to adulthood.

Critics will suggest the Blues have lost their nerve in the transfer market this summer. Reported targets Edinson Cavani, via the Daily Express, and Falcao, via The Mirror, have long passed them by, leaving the Blues in the cold with the impression they are no longer the prospect they once were when big spending was a common occurrence in the early days of Abramovich's reign.

It would appear on the contrary, however.

What we're witnessing with Chelsea now is a desire to not only adhere to UEFA's new Financial Fair Play rules, but a club ready to move away from the impression it has little soul and is only interested in buying success.

That impression is flawed, anyhow. Clubs long before Chelsea have often snapped up the best talent with the lure of long contracts paying big money in their bid to "buy" silverware. Nonetheless, however, Chelsea and Mourinho must be applauded for their new found approach.

Rumors remain that Wayne Rooney is a target, with Mourinho himself declaring it's "Rooney or bust," via BBC Sport, in the club's transfer dealings. That saga aside, though, Chelsea circa 2013 has a very different feel to it.

The recent tour of the Far East has seen a new star born in the form of Bertrand Traore, and Mourinho has been true to his word by giving the club's many youngsters an opportunity to impress.

In a matter of weeks, Traore has gone from a relative unknown to a player caught up in a bidding war between Europe's leading clubs, according to the Daily Mail. Meanwhile, the likes of Romelu Lukaku have shown the form that could save the club the odd £30 million in signing a new striker.

Rather than chasing names and entering bidding wars or playing games driven by a desire to exert financial muscle, Chelsea are behaving far more admirably. Their only significant outlay has been the £20 million spent on Andre Schurrle, when past seasons have seen double or even triple that sum spent.

Take Mourinho's first season in charge. Signing the likes of Didier Drogba, Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira, he splashed over £80 million, while the following year Manchester City received an inflated £24 million for Shaun Wright-Phillips, a player who remained on the fringes throughout his Chelsea career.

What we're seeing now is a club more assured in its approach, a club that isn't desperate to pay extravagant fees to feed a win-at-all-costs culture. The desire to succeed is still there, but it seems to be coming with more patience.

Chelsea look ready to give youth its chance. As Mourinho was quoted in the Daily Mail as saying himself, the squad has "an average age of 26.3 and that includes Schwarzer who is 40 years old and JT, Cech and Lampard in their 30s, so if we don't involve these players we drop to almost an Under-21 team."

By hoarding a host of Europe's most talented youngsters in recent years, this process saw the wheels put into motion a long time before Mourinho's return. Now he's back, the Portuguese appears ready and willing to embrace it, which his moves in the transfer market thus far can only testify.

For the sake of Chelsea's youth, long may that continue.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here @garryhayes