Jose Mourinho Explains Why Chelsea FC Passed On Luke Shaw
Jul 23, 2014; Pasadena, CA, USA; Manchester United defender Luke Shaw (28) passes the ball defended by Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Stefan Ishizaki (24) during the first half at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY SportsSouthampton fullback Luke Shaw had long been tied to a move to Chelsea FC since he made his impressive debut with his boyhood club. Many believed that Shaw’s fanhood of Chelsea and the fact that they were in need of some young blood at left back would make it a perfect fit. Not to mention the fact that the Blues are in need of some young English players to fill the void left behind by Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard. Instead, the club signed Filipe Luis of Atletico Madrid and Luke Shaw made the move to Manchester United for a whopping £30 million.
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Most fans thought they were simply outbid for the youngster or he simply preferred a move to Manchester United. According to Mourinho however, Chelsea passed on signing the youngster because of the exorbitant fees and the frankly ridiculous wages demanded by a 19 year old player who has yet to make the jump to the big stage. Shaw is seen as the future of the England left back position and his potential is very high, but the cost associated with such a player is what convinced Chelsea to pass on him.
Jose Mourinho on why the club passed on Luke Shaw:
"“If we pay to a 19-year-old boy what we were being asked for, to sign Luke Shaw, we are dead. We would have killed our stability with financial fair play, and killed the stability in our dressing room.Because when you pay that much to a 19-year-old kid – a good player, fantastic player – but when you pay that amount of money, the next day, we would have had players knocking on our door. They would have been saying ‘How is it possible I play 200 games for this club, won this and that, yet a 19-year-old comes here and gets more money than I get?’. It would’ve killed immediately our balance, and we couldn’t allow that.”Source: The Mirror"
Mourinho does make an excellent point. Spending that much money on such a young player who has yet to prove himself on the big stage goes far beyond just the fee or the wages. Things like dressing room balance and FFP balances must be taken in to account and signing Luke Shaw would have certainly thrown that all out of whack.
While Filipe Luis may not be 19 or English, he is still a very talented fullback who can hold down the fort at Chelsea for 3-4 years until they find his eventual replacement. We wish Mourinho and Chelsea signed Luke Shaw because he is an exciting young player who happens to be English, one can certainly understand the reasons why they did not make the move.
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