Chelsea signed Barcelona winger Pedro for £21.4m on Thursday and Hazard says he can not wait to learn from the Spaniard.
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Manchester United had everything in place to complete the signing of Barcelona’s Pedro, yet just when the deal looked all but done, Premier League champions Chelsea stole the show.
“We normally train very well but this week we train better than ever. Why?” However, despite a 3-0 victory against Chelsea in May and the fact that Chelsea have only beaten West Brom once in their past four meetings, Pulis isn’t too optimistic about his team’s chances against the champions.
“Why? Because we are not happy”.
He also added: “It’s the beginning of the season, we have to work”. We have so many players who play really well with the ball and are fantastic footballers.
Chelsea have their world-class goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois back between the sticks, despite Asmir Begovic playing well in his absence, and Costa at the other end of the pitch.
“The point is that Pedro is a player we like a lot and we are happy to have”.
Spanish worldwide Pedro’s desire to leave one of the biggest clubs in the world in order to further his career was a key factor in persuading Chelsea to sign him from Barcelona, manager Jose Mourinho said on Friday.
“When you realise something is true, sometimes unexpected things can happen”.
“He has unbelievable respect, he loves [Andres] Iniesta and [Lionel] Messi and Neymar – these guys he’s played with but everything he does he would always be behind”.
Asked whether the Englishman would start, Mourinho addressed his press conference, saying (via BBC Sport): “Maybe”.
Chelsea will be a similarly hard challenge, notwithstanding their form since the start of the season, but Pulis is likely to deploy a more defensive shape to frustrate his opponents.
It also sounded like Rooney’s admission had been something the player had also made to the manager, privately, following what is now a run of eight matches without a goal which will be all the more concerning given he has been restored to the centre-forward’s role for this campaign.
But the Portuguese insisted that does not necessarily mean any players will be leaving prior to the September 1 closure of the transfer window. It depends on whether you can do something you really believe you cannot pass up.
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Any activity could have repercussions for Juan Cuadrado, Oscar, Ramires and Willian, but Mourinho gave short shrift to suggestions of departures.
