In a remarkable twist in Chelsea's 'Will he? Won't he?' Wayne Rooney saga, it appears Jose Mourinho had a contingency plan up his sleeve after all. The Telegraph reports Eto'o will arrive as part of the deal which saw Brazil midfielder Willian choose Chelsea over Spurs as Anzhi Makhachkala continue to rid their books of the high earners in their ranks.
The fallout from the hijack of Willian's failed move to Tottenham could still be huge, interfering with Spurs plans to replace Bale, who was set to head to Real Madrid, which in turn, could then refrain Madrid from allowing Karim Benzema's speculated transfer to Arsenal. However, this could of course mean that Arsenal might themselves turn their attention back to Rooney, and the expected bid from Real Madrid for Liverpool's Luis Suarez could never materialise, as Benzema would remain at the Spanish club.
However, elsewhere in the news, Qatari club Al-Gharafa are rumoured to have heard about the deal, and are prepared to offer Eto'o over the ?4 million a year rumoured to be proffered by Chelsea. Footballing reasons would suggest Chelsea is the far better choice, but the allure of astronomical wages (not that ?4 million doesn't constitute astronomical anyway) may still sway Eto'o, much as it appeared to do in the transfer from Inter Milan to the Russian club Anzhi.
Interestingly, Mourinho must have known about this deal when saying Willian would be bought to play with, rather than as a replacement for the Rooney deal, and while it would be accurate that it would be Eto'o, rather than Willian who would be the direct replacement, the inference that the Rooney deal was still likely to happen, could have been another of Jose's mind game masterstroke's in order to unsettle Manchester United and their players before their Monday night game. If it's worked, that would be Spurs and United who've both been victims of The Special One, with only 8 days of the season gone.
Impressive Jose, impressive.
Source: DSG
Source: DSG