Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has dismissed speculation linking the club with a move for Juventus star Paul Pogba by claiming that it would stunt the development of academy graduate Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
The in-demand Pogba has established himself as one of the finest midfielders in Europe since leaving Manchester United for Juve back in 2012, and the France international has been repeatedly linked with a move to Chelsea and back to the Red Devils.
However, Mourinho has played down talk of the 22-year-old joining Stamford Bridge after claiming he is well stocked in the engine room following the breakthrough of Loftus-Cheek, who made his debut earlier this season.
The Portuguese coach said: ‘I don’t think about Pogba or other players. The only thing I can tell you is that you look to our midfield players and between Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic, Ramires, Ruben and John Obi Mikel we have a good group.
‘And I believe a lot in Ruben and I repeat next season the squad will be made in a way where Ruben is not a number, where he is a player to compete for a position. Ruben is a player that next season I expect him, not just to play a few times, but I expect him to compete for a place in the team.
‘I think Ruben next season will be not just a first-team player like he is at the moment, he will be a player to play and compete for a position.’
