Chelsea anticipate offers for Hazard and Oscar and it now seems increasingly likely one of them could be sold, with Paris St Germain interested in them both. Mourinho has criticised Hazard for not being a team player and suggested Oscar, a Brazil international, may have been saving himself for this summer’s World Cup.
He said: “I think he was our best player for months, from August to November or December. He was absolutely fantastic. And after that he was up and down.
“He arrived in the crucial moment of the season in a down. Injuries, couldn’t train, was trying to arrive to the game but didn’t, was a doubt for the game, the game was too big to play with a doubtful player, so he arrived in the crucial moment of the season in a low. I can imagine, in a couple of weeks, he will be in a high and during the World Cup he will be in a high.”
Asked whether he felt Oscar, who is crucial to Brazil’s plans, was already thinking of the World Cup, Mourinho said enigmatically: “There are things you can’t resolve.”
Mourinho, whose side can go top of the Premier League by beating Norwich City today, said the performances of Oscar and Hazard compared unfavourably with those of fellow midfielder Willian, although publicly the manager said he thought all of them would stay.
“Willian has improved. But you can’t succeed with everybody. At the end of the day, it’s up to them. You try to help, but it’s up to them. Every one who is in an age of improvement needs to improve. Every one.
“Would you lose any of those if they don’t have the ability to improve? I think they will stay. They’re in an age for that. Schurrle had a good season? Not bad, but next season must be better. Much better. [Mohamed] Salah, Oscar, Willian, Hazard, all of them are in an age of improvement.”
Chelsea plan to sign the Atletico Madrid pair of striker Diego Costa, for £31.5m, and left-back Filipe Luis for $16m. They will recall goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois from his loan at the Spanish club. Petr Cech will this week undergo surgery on his dislocated shoulder, which will rule him out for the start of next season.
Written by Steve Milne
