According to reports from Mirror Football yesterday evening, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is hoping goalkeeper Petr Cech won’t join another Premier League club this summer.
The Czech international is up there with the greatest goalkeepers in Premier League history, boasting four league titles, the 2012 Champions League title and 332 appearances as Chelsea’s No.1
At 32 years of age he’s still firmly within his prime, and has conceded just one goal in six top flight outings this term.
But after having a decade-spanning starting berth usurped from him by the prodigious Thibaut Courtois this season, Cech is widely expected to move on this summer.
Arsenal and Liverpool have both been mooted as potential suitors along with Serie A side Inter Milan – as This Is Futbol revealed this week.
But Stamford Bridge boss Jose Mourinho has now claimed that if the decision was purely down to him, he’d ensure the 6 foot 5 goalie isn’t allowed to join another English club.
“For me, decision No. 1 is that Petr will stay,” said the Portuguese in his pre-match press conference.
“After that, the second point would be for him to go – but not in England. The option I don’t want is for him to go to an English club.”
“But I am just the manager and he means so much for this club and what he did in this club, I think he deserves everything from this club. One thing is Jose Mourinho, another is Mr Abramovich and another thing is the board, because the board is a little bit of me and a little bit of other people,” he added.
“If the club decision is different to mine, I will accept it.”