Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has outlined his reasons for breaking Chelsea’s transfer fee on mifielder Michael Essien.
Essien has finally completed a £24.4m move from French club Lyon to Chelsea after a protracted saga which has dragged on for months.
“I wanted him because I was looking for a player to finish what is a very strong squad in every position,” said Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
“We believe he is the best we can get for his position and he can play anywhere in midfield.
“He’s young, has a lot of ambition and he has the profile of the player we want.
“I know the questions will be around the amount of money Chelsea had to spend to bring him here but that is the reality of modern football.
“Big teams only want big players, big players are in big clubs, big clubs want to keep their big players.
“The player is here and we think we have a really strong squad with a lot of space for improvement because everyone is very young.”
Essien said it had always been his dream to play in England.
“I wanted to come to the Premiership and now I am very happy,” said the Ghanaian.
“I am in love with the Premiership. I am pleased to be with Chelsea.
“It is going to be tough but I am ready to fight for a place in the team.
“I don’t think it will be a problem to adapt because I speak the langauge and I have some friends in the team.
“Physically I’m okay because I trained normally with my former club.”
