Harry Redknapp has praised Jose Mourinho’s boldness for dropping Diego Costa ahead of Chelsea’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, as reported by the London Evening Standard.
Advertisement
Mourinho played down any suggestion of a falling out with Costa after the draw at White Hart Lane, despite the striker appearing to throw his substitutes’ bib in his manager’s direction.
He said: “For me there are no question marks”. He was on the bench for one match. No problems, no problems at all. But he is a player that always tried. “But the paparazzi was not the best”.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been out since September with a knee injury and comes into contention, although he may not immediately displace Asmir Begovic, who has performed well as his deputy.
“They consulted me about the moment to do it, and I told them a bit far from Christmas because Christmas will be really busy”.
The veteran defender has been linked with a move to Inter Milan as rumors of his impending departure from Stamford Bridge increase in volume.
Mourinho declined to say if Courtois would start in place of Asmir Begovic.
And finally, perhaps in a bid to add to the firepower up front, Mourinho could be reunited with Zlatan Ibrahimovic as ESPN claim the Portuguese has proposed a mid-season deal where the powerful Paris Saint-Germain striker commits to a pre-contract.
“We know how fundamental he was for us”.
‘We performed very well at Tottenham. “If he does not play against Bournemouth he will play against Porto”.
The decision may have been forced on him by a breakdown in his relationship with Diego Costa, plus the absence of father-to-be Loic Remy and the injured Radamel Falcao.
Nemanja Matic was pictured training with a protective face mask on Thursday.
“He has a double fracture”.
Advertisement
The most significant showing of Diego Costa’s childishness came in that highly controversial match against Arsenal.
