Jose Mourinho is not expecting Fernando Torres to leave Chelsea before the end of the transfer window, admitting they will be in trouble if the striker does depart.
Reports suggest the 30-year-old's frustrating and underwhelming three-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge could be coming to an end in the coming days.
AC Milan are reportedly closing in on a move for the one-time £50million man, but widespread talk of an exit before Monday night's deadline was downplayed by Mourinho.
"If he wants to leave, in the case he wants to, it's because he wants to try a new life, a new club, probably a new league," the Portuguese said.
"So if he wants to leave, which until this moment I have not one single word about, I believe that is to try to be happier than he was in the last couple of years.
"This is a very human club in the way the club approaches this kind of situation. If he comes to us in these last couple of days, any possibility would be analysed by us as a club and the best decision for him."
Torres' departure would leave Chelsea short of the three strikers Mourinho believes will be necessary to fight on all fronts this season.
The Blues manager likes him as a player and as a person, and insists there are no plans afoot to replace him.
"Well, if that happens in the last hour of the market, we are in trouble," said Mourinho, who has been linked with a move for Roma's Mattia Destro.
"In this moment we are doing nothing because our belief is that the market is closed for us.
"I've believed for a long time that the squad is closed. We have our squad. We like our squad. It's not the perfect one, because no squad is perfect, but it's one we like."
The only transfer movement Mourinho is expecting is the departure an unnamed foreign player to comply with Premier League guidelines on home-grown players.
"We are ready for the market to close and for us to start September 1 with this squad we have, minus one foreign player," he said.
"Unfortunately, that is compulsory. I cannot say 'this is our squad', because we need because of the rules to make a decision in relation to a foreign player."
Asked when he would make a call on who to sell, Mourinho replied: "It's such a difficult decision that I believe (it will be) one second before the end of the market."
Source: PA
