Jose Mourinho is confident that Juan Cuadrado will turn out to be a great player for Chelsea, but believes the Colombian will take time to adapt to English football.
After a furious few weeks of negotiations, the Colombian winger officially joined the Blues from Fiorentina on transfer deadline day, with Mohamed Salah going the other way on loan until the end of the campaign.
The Chelsea manager personally oversaw the transfer last month as he was convinced of Cuadrado’s qualities and was desperate to add him to his squad. The Blues even sold Andre Schurrle to finance the deal.
The 26-year-old made his second start in the league for Chelsea in their 1-1 draw against Burnley yesterday, but was taken off in the 63rd minute.
Still to make an impact for the Blues since joining earlier this month, Mourinho stressed that Cuadrado should be afforded the time to adapt to English football.
relatedNewsStory
The Portuguese said that there is a world of difference between Serie A and the Premier League and Cuadrado also needs time to get used to his new role in Chelsea’s system.
“He’s adapting. He needs to adapt in everything”, Mourinho told the club’s official site.
“The pace of the game in Italy is much different, much slower. The intensity here is much higher, it’s difficult for him to play at the intensity we play for 90 minutes.
“Tactically, in Fiorentina he was playing in a system where he was a wide player. Here we don’t play that way and he has to go to areas where he is not yet adapted to it.”
The Chelsea manager is confident about the Colombian’s ability, but warned everyone that Cuadrado will take time to fully bloom into the footballer, he believes the speedy winger can be.
“I truly believe the great player we know we have we are not going to see immediately because the kid needs time to adapt.”
Don't bet on football until you've visited Inside Bet! Interesting markets, top tips, betting facts – get all the info before you bet.
