Chelsea's 'valued squad' deserve respect, says André Villas-Boas - 7M sport

Chelsea's 'valued squad' deserve respect, says André Villas-Boas



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Posted Sunday, July 24, 2011 by theguardian.com

• Manager content to let Manchester United splash the cash
• Villas-Boas to make 'wise' transfer decisions not hasty ones

Chelsea's 'valued squad' deserve respect, says André Villas-Boas
Chelsea's Didier Drogba, left, and Branislav Ivanovic, centre, have a splashing time after heavy rain during training in Bangkok.

André Villas-Boas has defended Chelsea's patient approach in the transfer market this summer and insisted his squad are more than capable of regaining the Premier League title, despite their relative toils last season.

Chelsea's spending under Villas-Boas has been restricted to deals for the teenage goalkeeper Thibault Courtois from Genk and the Barcelona B midfielder Oriol Romeu. While talks remain on-going with Anderlecht over the signing of Romelu Lukaku, who could cost up to £15m, the pursuit of Luka Modric and Scott Parker has dragged. Other Premier League challengers have strengthened early and significantly.

Manchester United, who last season finished nine points clear of Chelsea, then managed by Carlo Ancelotti, have spent £50m on new recruits, though Villas-Boas is convinced his squad can bridge that gap. "Each club is responsible for the money they put into the market," the manager said. "We put a lot of money in in January [when David Luiz and Fernando Torres were signed]. You have to value, as well, the kind of approach we are taking this summer.

"It's an approach made on taking wise decisions, evaluating what we have, paying respect to the valued squad we have. It's not a case of spending straight away when we don't need to do that. We hope it will prove to be the successful approach. Clubs have to spend what they have to spend. United have decided to sign players after losing some to retirement and they've reinforced those sectors. We will decide what sectors we need to reinforce in our own team."

There is a belief within the hierarchy at Chelsea that the nine-point gap conceded to United last season was deceptive and there is hope that Villas-Boas, arguably a more hands-on manager than his predecessor, will be able to get more from the squad at his disposal. Even so, the addition of a playmaker of Modric's quality has been pinpointed as a priority, particularly given the need to supply Torres more effectively.

Villas-Boas, whose team play a Thailand All Star XI in Bangkok on Sunday, admitted in the past few days that a failure to win trophies would be "the end of the world", but dismissed suggestions that Chelsea are already playing an onerous game of squad catch-up with the champions.

"You have to recall that Chelsea went to United with a great chance to shorten a distance that, OK, in the end, became nine points," he said, referring to the trip to Old Trafford in May when, had the visitors prevailed, they would have drawn level on points at the top of the table. "It went United's way, but it could have gone Chelsea's way and changed the Premier League in the last couple of days.

"Rather, recall that Chelsea came back with an extremely good recovery in terms of shortening that points distance. This club had an opportunity to win the title and that shows how competitive we can be."

Chelsea hope to conclude Romeu's £4.5m arrival from Barcelona B over the next 24 hours, with Courtois also to conclude his arrival and immediate loan to Atlético Madrid.

"The Spanish league is an extremely competitive league and a great place for him to be," Villas-Boas said. "With Oriol, the club have agreed terms with Barcelona and now it is about personal terms and a medical.

"That sector, central midfield, was an area where we were struggling for numbers. He's [Oriol] one of the most promising players in that No6 position and has a bright future."



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