Jose Mourinho refuses to sell Petr Cech to Arsenal

Jose Mourinho has told Chelsea officials to make sure Petr Cech is not sold to Arsenal should he be forced to sell the goalkeeper,reports Spanish newspaper AS.

The Chelsea manager is currently in the process of trying to convince Thibaut Courtois to return to the club and compete with Cech for the number one spot. Courtois has spent three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid and isn't willing to return unless first team football is guaranteed.

It may, therefore, become impossible for Mourinho to bring back Courtois and also keep Cech at the club, meaning he may have to sell the 31-year-old after 10-years as Chelsea's first choice 'keeper.

Currently boasting a basic wage of £100,000-a-week, there are few clubs who would be able to afford signing Cech, and one of the only big clubs currently looking for a new goalkeeper are Chelsea's London rivals Arsenal.

The Gunners find themselves with just one recognised goalkeeper in their squad following the departure of Lukasz Fabianski and Emiliano Viviano. Although Wojciech Szczesny is thought of highly, Arsene Wenger is keen to provide Szczesny with some quality competition in an attempt to inspire the Pole to improve.

Cech would be perfect for such a role and Arsenal would be able to afford his wages as well as Chelsea's asking price should he become available. Wenger has been given £100m to spend of transfers and wages, making Cech's £100,000-a-week wage easy to absorb.

However, in a similar situation to that of Demba Ba, Mourinho will refuse to see one of Chelsea's players for a direct Premier League rival and has vetoed any suggestion of selling the Czech Republic international to the Gunners.

Mourinho cancelled a deal that would have seen Ba join Arsenal on loan at the last minute on transfer deadline day in September 2013 but Mourinho won't even consider talking to Arsenal regarding Cech.

It remains to be seen whether or not Cech will have any other takers apart from the Gunners. It may be possible that Mourinho's reluctance to sell Cech to Arsenal will cause Courtois to spend another season away from Stamford Bridge in La Liga as Cech being in the squad seems to be the only thing standing between Courtois and his Chelsea debut.

Article taken from: http://www.givemesport.com/473198-jose-mourinho-refuses-to-sell-petr-cech-to-arsenal?autoplay=on