Mourinho: No plans to sell or buy
Jose Mourinho has insisted Chelsea have no plans to sell or buy in the January transfer window, playing down reports of imminent exits for World Cup winner Andre Schurrle and Mohamed Salah.
The Blues boss says both Germany forward Schurrle and Egypt winger Salah will be in the squad for Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round tie with League One Bradford, a game for which captain John Terry will drop to the bench.
"The club doesn't move. We don't move. Our desire is to keep the same squad," Mourinho said.
"The window is open, but what I can say is I like them, I need them and I trust them.
"We are happy with the players, we are happy with the work we did in the summer to prepare for the season, (it) reflects the trust we have in the group and, if possible, we don't want to be involved in the transfer window.
"If we have to be it's because somebody pushed us, with some offer for our player, but Chelsea moving and looking for a change? No.
"Sometimes we have needs, like we had in the past transfer windows where we sold some players.
"The reality is normally nothing should happen in the next two weeks and we should go to February with the same squad."
Salah has found first-team opportunities limited this season and has been linked with a move to Roma.
A Bundesliga return for Schurrle has been suggested, with Wolfsburg mentioned.
John Terry is to be rested for the clash, with Kurt Zouma starting in defence.
Mourinho has his detractors but there will be no sense of ill-feeling from the opposition dug-out when the Bantams try to repeat their recent cup heroics at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho has upset plenty during his rise to the summit of football management but Bradford boss Phil Parkinson, who led his side on their epic run all the way to the Capital One Cup final at Wembley two years ago, is not one of them.
"Every manager admires him and the reason he wins so much is because he sets his teams up away from home to get a result," Parkinson said ahead of the fourth-round FA Cup tie.
"He's not bothered how his team looks or what plaudits he gets for his team's style away from home. He just goes there to do a job and adapts his team and his formation accordingly.
"That's what management is all about. Chelsea have got talented players, but he demands a great work ethic from them.
"In the modern-day game if you want to be the best you can't carry anybody in terms of working for the team and we say that to our players.
"The team work ethic is the most important thing and Mourinho has instilled this in his teams and that's why he often gets the right side of the small dividing line between finishing first and second."
Bradford, under Parkinson, have developed an unlikely big-game mentality in recent seasons. Their Capital One Cup exploits in 2012/13 saw them defeat Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa, over two legs, to reach Wembley.
They also won promotion via the League Two play-off final later that year and secured a memorable Capital One Cup win against arch-rivals Leeds earlier this season at a sold-out Valley Parade.
Parkinson feels these experiences will stand the club and his players in good stead.
"The staff are all the same and we've got five or six players who are likely to play, who played in those big games and that was great experience for us," he said.
"At the time we used that experience to great effect in the play-offs and the play-off final because we grew used to playing in big games in front of the TV cameras and in front of larger crowds.
"It helped us deal with that extra pressure. We had the experience of playing against Leeds, our local rivals, in the Capital One Cup this year and we won that game and this is our chance to test ourselves against the best team in the country at the moment."
Striker Billy Clarke is back in contention after missing the last six games due to a knee injury, but on-loan goalkeeper Jordan Pickford will play no part.
Clarke could return to the substitutes' bench after being sidelined since December 20, while Ben Williams will step in for Pickford, who is ineligible having been refused permission to play in the FA Cup by parent club Sunderland.
Brad Halliday and Francois Zoko will be included after their respective loans spells from Middlesbrough and Blackpool were extended on Thursday, as will Matty Dolan following his recent recovery from a hamstring injury.
Defender Andrew Davies has been passed fit after nursing a hamstring injury in recent weeks.
Source: PA
