Jose Mourinho insists Fernando Torres still has a future at Chelsea and has rubbished reports claiming he is ready to sell some of the club’s best players this summer.
Many believe Torres will leave Stamford Bridge during the close-season and there have been suggestions in the national press this week that Mourinho could allow all four of his strikers to head out the door.
Eden Hazard and Oscar have also been tipped for departures as the club looks to fall into line with Financial Fair Play, while pursuing moves for Diego Costa and Mario Mandzukic.
Mourinho has been highly critical of his forward-line and Torres was replaced by Andre Schurrle for the Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
It was a decision that showed a lack of faith in the Spaniard, who has failed to live up to his £50million price tag, but the Special One this afternoon left the door open for Torres.
“Yes, he has a future,” Mourinho said of the striker. “Everybody wants to improve and Chelsea wants him to improve, that’s normal, but does he have a future? Yes. He has a contract, he’s professional. We want him to score goals. Not just me, he also wants to score goals.
“During his period in this club, he’s had some important moment. He’s not having a lot of stability in his performances but I trust that he can have these moments [in the last few games of the season].
“I think that people who give everything they have, you cannot complain. He’s a good professional and tries to do his best on the pitch. Obviously, we want more. He’s the kind of player I respect, he deserves to be respected.”
Chelsea banked close to £40million from the sale of Juan Mata to Manchester United in January, with Hazard and Oscar emerging as the driving force of Mourinho’s new Chelsea.
And with the bright young duo excelling for the Blues, the Special One is adamant the club will not force him to sell his best players when the transfer window re-opens.
“Chelsea are in a process of rebuilding a new team, with conditions not to finish 20 or 25 points behind the champions,” he added.
“We don’t do that by change 10, 12 or 14 players each season. Stability is to keep the best players you have. Part of the evolution is about keeping your best players and bringing a couple of new players in during the window.
“ We are not going to reach that stability by selling the best players.”
