Chelsea Transfer News: Gareth Bale and Raheem Sterling Rumours Emerge

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho reportedly wanted Gareth Bale and Raheem Sterling to join the Blues this summer, with the Portuguese manager said to have been wary about other teams catching up to the champions.

According to Rob Beasley of the Sun, Mourinho outlined the pair, Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane and Everton’s John Stones as transfer targets, but his requests to bolster the squad were deemed “excessive and unnecessary” by the Chelsea hierarchy.

A close friend of Mourinho’s quoted in the piece suggested the Blues boss knew some investment in the squad was needed:

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Jose felt he was being asked to work miracles. The club thought he didn’t need any new players, that essentially the same squad could dominate again.

But he knew differently. He laughed at the idea but not because he found the situation funny — far from it. He knew he needed a fresh injection of talent, he knew he needed to increase competition for places and depth to his squad. He knew it was dangerous to stand still and give other sides the opportunity to play catch-up.

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While Chelsea didn’t get the players they wanted, they still spent big in the summer window. According to Transfermarkt, the Blues splashed out £63.28 million to bring in the likes of Pedro, Baba Rahman, Asmir Begovic and Kenedy. They were added to a title-winning squad, minus Petr Cech and Filipe Luis, who were moved on in the summer.

Needless to say, Sterling and Bale would have each been remarkable captures. According to the aforementioned piece, when it came to the former, Mourinho tried to convince Sterling to move for “silverware before pieces of silver.” However, the decision to join Manchester City looks a wise one from Sterling, with his new side sat top of the Premier League.

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As we can see here courtesy of Sky Sports News HQ, the England international is doing the business for City in the big games:

Bale represents a more fanciful transfer target, given his status as a first-team regular at Real Madrid. While he’s currently out of the team with an injury, new Los Blancos boss Rafa Benitez seems ready to place a lot of faith in the Welshman and his displays early on in the season suggested Bale is primed for a strong season in the Spanish capital.

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In Wales colours he’s certainly shown a willingness to take on the responsibility of leading a team, as we can see here:

There is certainly an argument to say that Chelsea’s recent slump isn’t entirely down to Mourinho. Throughout his career, the Portuguese has never endured a run like the one the Blues are currently on, suggesting other factors may be at work. Not getting the players in he wants to refresh the team could certainly be one.

After all, as noted here by Miguel Delaney of ESPN FC, this campaign feels like an anomaly when viewing the Chelsea manager’s record as a whole:

Sadly for Mourinho, while a dream list of targets can be drawn up, the clubs in possession of these players are under no obligation to sell, especially when they’re so important to their respective teams. Anyway, looking at the manner in which the boss has conducted himself and Chelsea’s recent troubles, the players in question probably feel contented about not moving to Stamford Bridge.

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The assessment that Mourinho is being “asked to work miracles” is far-fetched given the quality at his disposal. Chelsea spent a sound amount of money on bolstering a squad that cantered to Premier League glory last term and as a result, they should be performing much better than this.