JOSE MOURINHO will today beg his old club Porto to part with £25million-rated winger Ricardo Quaresma. Chelsea boss Mourinho is desperate to beef up his attacking options — and Portugal ace Quaresma fits the bill. The problem for Mourinho — with the transfer window closing tomorrow — is that the player would cost way more than the figure Chelsea want to pay. SunSport can reveal the Blues have offered at least one player — understood to be Paulo Ferreira — plus around £8m in cash. However, having flogged both Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho to Stamford Bridge in the first place, Porto are stalling in the hope of getting as much cash as possible.
The Sun yesterday revealed that Mourinho had entered into talks with Tottenham over a possible player-exchange involving Shaun Wright-Phillips for Jermain Defoe. But with Spurs demanding cash on top for the hitman, the Chelsea boss has turned his attention to his former club.
Mourinho has so far recorded a net profit of £7m over the summer and, having lost Arjen Robben, is concerned his 4-3-3 formation could be scuppered if he is hit by injuries. Porto are not short of money as they have just sold Brazil defender Pepe to Real Madrid and Anderson to Manchester United for a total of £42m.
But Quaresma, 23, is anxious to further his career and sees a move to the Premier League as the perfect platform for his attacking style.