Chelsea technical director Michael Emenalo explained the reasons behind the signings of experienced players Samuel Eto'o and Mark Schwarzer while expressing his delight at the return of Jose Mourinho as manager.
The Blues have been on a youth drive recently in the transfer market, but brought the experienced duo of Schwarzer and Eto'o as well to Stamford Bridge to bulk up the squad.
"We are looking for continuity at the top level, a very high standard, so when we recruit an older player we hope it is one that will give us that continuity, and we also look to have the right base in that particular position," Emenalo told the club's official website.
Emenalo admitted Eto'o was brought in near the end of the transfer window after Chelsea failed in their bid to land Wayne Rooney from Manchester United.
"In the case of Samuel Eto'o, it was an open secret that we wanted Wayne Rooney and I don't need to explain what the idea is behind wanting a player like Rooney," he said.
"But we are not desperate and we know for the future we have Romelu Lukaku and incredible hope that he will come through and lead the line. People keep forgetting that he is only 20 and looking at the short-term plan, we don't want to put too much pressure on a young player like him.
"So if we weren't able to get Rooney and we had Lukaku, (Demba) Ba and (Fernando) Torres, we felt comfortable with them but we also felt comfortable to bring Eto'o to give us a little bit of competition, because we wanted to freshen up that position. We have every confidence in Torres, Ba and Lukaku but with Eto'o we have bought experience."
Emenalo said he was quite happy with the squad assembled for the new season, while expressing his contentment at the arrival of Mourinho.
"We are happy to have Jose back," Emenalo added.
"He is a very good decision maker and a trusted component in the decision-making process due to what he has achieved here. He came in with clear ideas of what he wanted to do, which were not dissimilar from what we were already in the process of doing, and that helped.
"I am very happy with the squad we have created. You can't always get exactly what you want but in the main we were very close.
"With the ambition of the club and the owner, and his goodwill in following that ambition with investment, we try to have a short-term and a long-term project and we feel we are satisfying that."
