Source: Telegraph
Chelsea do not need to strengthen squad says manager Andre Villas-Boas
By Jason Burt, in Bangkok[LNB]7:18PM BST 23 Jul 2011[LNB]Comments[LNB] In the opulence of Ballroom One in Bangkok's showpiece Shangri-La hotel, Andre Villas-Boas yesterday set out a vision of his own football utopia: how Chelsea will overhaul Manchester United without spending big this summer and by 'paying respect to the valued squad that we have.' [LNB]The new Chelsea manager has, nevertheless, been busy and used the same occasion to confirm that a 5m euro fee had been agreed for the promising Barcelona B defensive midfielder Oriol Romeu — 'Oriol is a player with a bright future,' he said. He's also a player Villas-Boas identified and has brought to the club. [LNB]But like goalkeeper Thibault Courtois, who is to be loaned to Atletico Madrid, Oriol is just 19, while the targets that Chelsea are also closest to signing — striker Romelu Lukaku and another Belgian, the winger Kevin de Bruyne — are also young. [LNB]If Luka Modric is acquired, and if a bid is finally placed for Scott Parker, that will change, of course — with a number of senior players also set to leave - but Villas-Boas was adamant yesterday that the gap between Chelsea and United last season was not as great as it seemed. [LNB]Nevertheless United finished nine points ahead in May and have spent heavily — Ashley Young, David De Gea and Phil Jones — and remain in pursuit of Wesley Sneijder but Villas-Boas remained unfazed. 'You have to recall that Chelsea went to United with a great chance to shorten that distance that, in the end, became nine points,' Villas-Boas said. [LNB]Related Articles
