Jose Mourinho wants substitute Petr Cech to stay at Chelsea
- Published
Petr Cech, right, has made more than 300 first-team appearances for Chelsea
Jose Mourinho wants goalkeeper Petr Cech to remain at the club, despite the Chelsea boss picking Thibaut Courtois in goal for the 3-1 win over Burnley.
Belgian Courtois, 22, has returned to Chelsea after a three-year loan spell with Atletico Madrid., external
"I hope Petr doesn't want to go and I hope he doesn't have offers to go and, if he does have offers, he refuses to go," said Mourinho.
Cech, 32, has been the Blues' first-choice keeper since joining in 2004.
Petr Cech holds the record for most clean sheets as a Chelsea keeper
He was signed from Rennes in February 2004 but, by the time he arrived at the club in July, Mourinho had started his first stint in charge at Stamford Bridge.
The Czech international has won three Premier League titles and was also in goal for both the Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich in 2012, external and the Europa League triumph against Benfica a year later.
"I'd be delighted to have two of the best keepers in the world in my squad," added Mourinho, in his second stint as Blues boss..
BBC Sport's Mark Lawrenson | |
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"It's about whether Petr Cech can accept the situation about not playing. Chelsea still have Mark Schwarzer as reliable back-up. Cech might just be knocking on Jose Mourinho's door in the next few weeks and asking to leave. If I was him I'd be looking to play. It was a nice and composed performance from Thibaut Courtois as well. He looked like he'd been playing in the Premier League for years." |
Chelsea allowed high-profile players Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole to leave Stamford Bridge during the summer as Mourinho looked to build for the future.
"Obviously a goalkeeper is not a player you are changing match after match. You must give a bit of stability, but this is about performances," said Mourinho.
"Ten years ago I had a very difficult decision to make when I had Carlo Cudicini giving fantastic performances in Chelsea's goal for many years.
Belgium keeper Courtois went 1,118 days between signing for Chelsea and making his debut
"This situation is similar. We have to think about the future of the club and I made a decision to give the goal to Courtois."
Mourinho only informed Cech of his decision to replace him with Courtois, who has 22 caps for Belgium, on Monday.
The Portuguese added: "Petr was disappointed but football is sometimes like this. Players can often be unhappy with managers."
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