Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, has expressed his belief that Manchester City are easily the favourites to win the Premier league next season, after yet another summer spree.
The former EPL champions have splashed close to £100m in signing Fernandinho from Shakhtar Donetsk, Jesus Navas and Alvaro Negredo from Sevilla and Stevan Jovetic from Fiorentina.
Mourinho compared Manuel Pellegrini’s spending to his first stint in charge of the Blues and admitted the expectations are high.
“In my first spell you were always putting pressure on me saying: ‘You buy this, you spend that, you buy the title’. So I hope now it is on the other side,” said Mourinho, who had earlier denied playing mind games with rival managers following his return to Chelsea.
“I know the players City have bought and they are players without surprises. They are more than ready. If you see their ages, their maturity, they are in the perfect moment of their career to go to England.
“They have no need for adaptation, no need of work to learn the project. They are players at the top of their careers, experienced but still young, so I think they’ve bought very, very well.
“So of course people should be expecting more of them, with their experience, than my young team. Young players are not at the best they will be. They need to learn, they need time to get to the top.
“Navas and Negredo are two world champions, two European champions. Jovetic has been one of the best in Serie A for more than two years. Fernandinho has big experience.
“They bought very well. That doesn’t surprise me, because they have the money to buy, but also the knowledge. They have people in the club that know a lot about football.”
Mourinho also said that he faces a big challenge to achieve success with his current Chelsea squad.
“When people ask what it will mean if we win the title, I say there are no ‘ifs’ – either we win or we don’t,” he added. “It would be different. It can be better because I always say that the best trophy you have is the most recent one. If we win this season, with this group, it will be the best for many reasons.”
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