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Mourinho to wait on Rooney

Wayne Rooney came through 65 minutes for England on Wednesday night © Getty Images

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Jose Mourinho has hinted that Chelsea will wait until the last day of the transfer window to sign unsettled Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

He also insisted that David Luiz is not for sale, and somewhat played down the reported interest in Samuel Eto'o.

Mourinho has made very public his pursuit of Rooney, who is well known to now desire a move to Chelsea. So far, the English champions have been unmoving in their refusal to sell the forward. Chelsea, meanwhile, are taking the same stance themselves as regards Barcelona's pursuit of Luiz.

When specifically asked about Rooney, Mourinho somewhat evaded the question but intimated that Chelsea had not given up their interest.

"Every one of us looking always to try and strengthen your squad. We all say 'no' but we lie to the last day, when the market is open, because we're all waiting for something to happen. Even if we say we're very happy with our squad, we lie, because we always want to make it better.

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"We'll see what happens, not just with us but with Man United. I like my squad. I'm not lying there. And I enjoy working with these young people, some of whom are taking their first steps in the Premier League, and I'm enjoying the process of working with this young team."

A report in the Daily Express said that Mourinho wanted the Rooney matter resolved by the time Chelsea travel to Old Trafford on August 26 on the Bank Holiday Monday.

Mourinho was much more certain on the subject of Barcelona's interest in Luiz.

"This club did fantastic work and found a fantastic balance. The club is in perfect conditions to say we don't want to sell this player or that player. We want to keep this one. David is one of the players the club made a huge investment in. He's not here for seven to 10 years. He's been here for a couple of years, and he signed a new contract last year and was happy to do it. So we want to keep him and we understand that a big club like Barcelona wants the best, and tries to get one of the best central defenders in the world. But we are being very honest also by saying there is no chance David Luiz is leaving."

As regards to Eto'o, Mourinho was much more open. Stamford Bridge sources have told ESPN that Chelsea have not actually made contact with the free agent, and that much of the speculation has come from Eto'o's representatives. This is was something to which Mourinho alluded in his press conference.

"Samo? He put himself in the public position. But, for me as a manager, I'm happy that a player who worked with me before goes publicly and says he'd like to join me again," he said.

"Especially a player like Samuel, a player with a big history in European football. But we are trying to get one player and we'll see what happens. Before the transfer window closes, we'll make decisions. The decisions can be different decisions."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd