WHERE ARE THEY NOW? THE 10 SIGNINGS JOSE MOURINHO MADE ON HIS RETURN TO CHELSEA IN 2013

Jose Mourinho made his return to Chelsea ahead of the 2013-14 campaign and it didn’t take him long to make an impact. While Chelsea went trophyless during his first year back, they won the Premier League and League Cup in his second season.

The Special One laid the groundwork for those successes during his first year back with the club as he guided Chelsea to third in the Premier League.

We’ve gone back through the archives and have checked out where the 10 signings he made during the 2013 summer transfer window are today.

Andre Schurrle

The German winger spent just a year and a half at Stamford Bridge, but he did produce some memorable moments in that time. Schurrle announced his retirement from professional football in 2020 at the age of 29.

Mourinho clearly had quite the impact on Schurrle during their time together as the former German international revealed what the Portuguese boss was like behind the scenes.

“He’s (Mourinho) a brutal guy,” he said in a YouTube interview with Joko Ein Gesprach. “I always thought to myself: What does he do anyway? Why does he treat me like this? Why does he do this to people?

“In retrospect, I realise what he wanted and what resources he was working with. At the time, I couldn’t really deal with the things he wanted from me because of all the harshness and the psychological pressure.”

Josimar Quintero

The Ecuador midfielder was snapped up by Chelsea in 2013, although issues with his visa meant that he wasn’t eligible to play for the first team until he turned 18.

Quintero spent his younger years in Barcelona and continued to develop with the Chelsea academy, although he never managed to make a senior appearance in England.

The 26-year-old is currently a free agent and has been without a club since leaving MLS third-division mide Real Monarchs in 2021.

Marco van Ginkel

Mourinho splashed a reported fee of £8million on the Dutch midfielder, but he didn’t get much of a chance at Stamford Bridge. Van Ginkel made just four senior appearances under Mourinho before he was shipped out on loan.

Since leaving Chelsea in 2021, Van Ginkel has been playing in the Eredivisie. Following a spell with PSV, the 30-year-old rejoined his boyhood club Vitesse in January.

Izzy Brown

Chelsea managed to lure Brown away from West Brom in 2013 and the attacking midfielder was considered a top prospect at the time. He made just one senior appearance at Chelsea and spent the majority of his days out on loan.

In total, Brown went on several different loan spells before he left the club on a permanent basis in 2021. He joined Championship outfit Preston North End but was soon forced to retire due to a reoccurring ACL injury.

“I’ve been trying to deal with my emotions and it’s been difficult,” Brown told The Athletic when announcing his retirement. “It’s been a difficult year but, really, today and tomorrow will probably be the hardest couple of days of my life.

“I don’t like uncertainty. I don’t like not knowing what’s going to happen in the future. It’s very difficult for me to process everything.”

Mark Schwarzer

The experienced Australian goalkeeper joined Chelsea on a free transfer and acted as a backup to Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois. Schwarzer made a total of 12 appearances for Chelsea and he then enjoyed a short stint with Leicester before retiring in 2016.

Cristian Cuevas

Cuevas joined Chelsea in the summer of 2013 for a fee of £1.7million. The Chilean then spent the following six seasons out on loan before he was eventually let go in 2019.

He never really got the chance to shine at Chelsea, but he seems to be enjoying life back in Chilie these days. Aged 28, you can now catch him playing for Universidad Catolica in the Primera Division.

Stipe Perica

The towering Croatian forward was another youngster who fell victim to the Chelsea loan system. Perica never made a senior appearance for Chelsea as he spent his entire time out on loan before joining Udinese.

He briefly returned to English football in 2020–21, but he struggled to make an impact with Watford in the Championship. The 28-year-old now plays for Standard Liege where he has scored six goals in 31 appearances.

Willian

Undoubtedly the best bit of business that Chelsea did in the summer of 2013, Willian turned out to be a great signing. Chelsea managed to swoop in ahead of Tottenham at the final hour and the rest is history.

Willian went on to make 339 appearances for the club across seven seasons and he also managed to get his hands on five trophies in that time.

The less said about his Arsenal stint the better, although he has looked back to his usual self since joining Fulham last year. Even at 35 years old, he can still make a difference in the Premier League.

Samuel Eto’o

The legendary Cameroon striker joined Chelsea in his later years, but he still had some magic left in his boots. Eto’o scored 12 goals in his single season with Chelsea before he then joined Everton.

He then played out his final days in Qatar before announcing his retirement from professional football in 2019. These days he works as the President of the Cameroon Football Federation.

Christian Atsu

Atsu joined Chelsea on a five-year deal for a reported fee of £3.5million in 2013. He is perhaps most known for his spell with Newcastle, where he spent five years and made 121 appearances.

The Ghanaian international tragically died earlier in the year after being caught up in the Turkey–Syria earthquakes.

READ NEXT: The 14 players let go by Chelsea in the summer – & how they’ve fared since

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Chelsea’s top 40 Premier League appearance makers?

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