The second coming of Jose Mourinho at Chelsea has not gone completely according to plan. The 1-0 reverse to Basel in Group E of the Champions League on Tuesday marked the Blue's fourth defeat of a season that has also taken in losses to Newcastle and Everton, while the Swiss side were again victorious over the Londoners back in September. This has left Chelsea qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League by the skin of their teeth but four points off the pace in the title race, in third place. Not exactly what the self-styled 'special one' envisaged when he took control of the reins at Stamford Bridge for a second time this summer, nor indeed what fans would have hoped for. Part of the problem at Chelsea is that Mourinho has inherited a squad of players assembled by previous managers such as Roberto Di Matteo and Rafa Benitez that he doesn't want. You can tell by his recent selections that there are certain individuals way out of his reckoning, some of whom may be allowed to leave in the New Year. To compensate for that, we anticipate Mourinho will use the January transfer window to stamp his own indelible print on Chelsea by signing players who will help make the Blues his own. And here, we take a look at 5 such players.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
