Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has rubbished the suggestion that Juan Cuadrado was a "panic buy".
The Blues signed the Colombia international from Fiorentina on the final day of the winter transfer window for €33 million, shortly after selling Andre Schurrle to Wolfsburg for €29.6m.
Mourinho was reluctant to pile pressure on Cuadrado but nonetheless insisted that the versatile winger will prove a shrewd addition to his squad, intimating that the 26-year-old, who was previously linked with Bayern Munich and Barcelona, represents an upgrade on Schurrle.
"I don’t think it’s the best thing for [Cuadrado] that I speak about expectations," the Portuguese told reporters on Friday.
"He needs his time, as everyone does, and he’ll have his time. But it’s not a panic buy; it’s a reaction to Schurrle. It’s not a panic buy because he’s a player we’ve known for a long, long time.
"Schurrle is a player we like very, very much. We are happy with what Schurrle gave us. We are happy with our investment in him one and a half years ago. But we are happy with our business."
Mourinho was speaking to the press for the first time since enacting a media blackout last month. The former Real Madrid boss was fined by the Football Association (FA) for claiming that there was a refereeing campaign against his side in relation to diving.
The Blues boss was then further upset by the fact that star striker Diego Costa was banned for three games, after being found guilty of stamping on Livepool defender Emre Can during the second leg of the two sides' Capital One Cup semi-final tie.
Consequently, Mourinho, who is obliged to attend a press conference before every Premier League game, was not in good form when he sat down to speak to the media on the eve of Saturday's trip to Aston Villa.
"You know why I'm here, so you cannot expect me to be super happy to be here," he said. Asked if it was because he was compelled to attend, he replied: "Yes."
However, Blues boss refused to be drawn on the reasons for his apparent annoyance. He insisted that it wasn't "just" down to his FA charge or Costa's suspension, yet declined an invitation to elaborate for fear of further reprisals.
"I don't reflect [on either issue]. I don't even think about it because maybe they can read my reflection and they don't want that."
Mourinho was then asked if he is still enjoying his work, given he professed his enduring love for English football upon his return to Stamford Bridge in 2013 after spells in Italy and Spain.
"I’m enjoying my work with my players," he answered. "When I like my players and like my squad, I’m much more happy. More motivated to work. And this is the case."
The two-time Champions League winner then denied that he had done journalists a disservice with his media blackout, arguing that he had still given them plenty to write about.
"You can make a silence very noisy," he added. "You could make noise with my silence; it depends on you. If I was a journalist, I could make from silence, lots of words."
Meanwhile, Mourinho dismissed the suggestion that deadline-day signing Juan Cuadrado was a "panic buy", explaining that Chelsea merely needed a top-class replacement for Andre Schurrle, who left for Wolfsburg just before the close of the transfer window in Germany.
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