Jose Mourinho Talks Radamel Falcao, John Stones and More in Chelsea Presser

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has revealed on-loan striker Radamel Falcao could start against Everton on Saturday after his goalscoring cameo against Crystal Palace.

The Portuguese insisted he is not thinking about Roberto Martinez or John Stones ahead of his side’s trip to the Toffees on Saturday. He also cleared up some confusion regarding the summer signing of Papy Djilobodji as he spoke to the assembled media on Friday ahead of their jaunt up to Merseyside.

It's a game in which Mourinho thinks the much maligned Colombian striker could start. “Of course Falcao has the chance to start tomorrow,” he said, per Jacob Murtagh of the Daily Mirror. “When the player is on the bench and is coming on every game, then he’s there. Falcao works hard, very professionally every day, so for sure he can start the game.”

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Up to now the Blues have looked a little sluggish in attack, but Falcao showcased his sharpness with his diving header against the Eagles. It’s the defensive side of this team that will have been giving Mourinho sleepless nights, though, having conceded nine goals in four matches.

It’s probably why the Blues made three bids for Stones this summer, all of which were rejected by Everton, per Sky Sports. When quizzed on the matter, Mourinho revealed he was not thinking about the opposition, via Paul Brown of the Daily Star:

Martinez was critical of Chelsea’s approach to the transfer throughout the summer, accusing the champions of being “disrespectful,” per John Cross of the Daily Mirror. As noted by Miguel Delaney of ESPN FC, the Portuguese didn’t reveal whether or not the two managers would be exchanging pleasantries on the sidelines:

Mourinho went on to discuss some of the club’s transfer activity, most notably the signing of Nantes defender Djilobodji.

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The Blues chief claimed the same person who advised him to sign Kurt Zouma was behind the transfer. However, Mourinho did admit he didn’t have the final say on the deal:

Eyebrows were raised when, just days after the deal was completed, the Blues decided not to include the defender in the squad for their Champions League matches. But Mourinho revealed his thinking behind including youngsters such as Kenedy and Bertrand Traore in the squad and not Djilobodji:

Mourinho also provided some updates on injured players and unfortunately for Chelsea, their first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois look as though he’s set to miss a lot of matches.

The manager revealed the Belgium international needs to have an operation on his knee, per the Blues’ Twitter feed:

Last season, Courtois developed into a world-class goalkeeper at Stamford Bridge. His superb shot-stopping is often heralded, but other facets of his game really came on too, such as his distribution, command of the penalty area and ability to make critical contributions in important matches.

But in Asmir Begovic, Mourinho thinks he has a top-quality replacement:

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The Chelsea boss also revealed that midfielder Oscar will not play a part in the game against Everton, as he’s still suffering with a problem, but he could be back in contention very soon:

The Everton match is a massive game for Mourinho’s side. He’ll be hoping his players come back with a renewed focus following the international break and they’ll be severely tested at Goodison Park, which is likely to resemble a bear pit come kick-off on Saturday. Going there without their first-choice goalkeeper is unlikely to make things easier.

A loss on Merseyside would give Manchester City the chance to go eight points clear of the reigning champions later in the day. It means that even at this early stage of the season, the Blues must emerge from this match with three points or their hopes of retaining their crown will be dangling by a thread.