Mourinho Confirms Chelsea Has Signed Defender Who Is Like Ricardo Carvalho

Chelsea signed Baba Rahman – who used to be a regular at Augsburg – during the summer, and although it is crystal clear that the Bundesliga club and Chelsea are not on the same level in all ramifications, the left-back would have expected to have played more minutes than the ones he currently has under his belt.

However, the Ghana international could take heart and be rest-assured that his time will come, as former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho also faced a similar situation when he first arrived the English Premier League from the Portuguese Primeira League.

Mourinho had this to say about Baba’s current situation at Stamford Bridge:

“I go back to one of the best defenders the Premier League has ever had, Ricardo Carvalho. He was in trouble for three, four, five months. He said he couldn’t adapt to the change from the Portuguese League and the Champions League to the Premier League: the way attacking players were playing, the way he had to adapt and learn how to use his position and his body. He was a super player but it was hard for him for three or four months. It’s a problem of experience and being adapted to the Premier League. It depends on the characteristics of the player.

“Baba is really good with the ball, he’s very fast, but he’s learning how we play and how we defend. The fact he came to us on the last day of the market took from him the possibility to work in pre-season, but he’s a good player for sure and we trust him.”

Carvalho’s success was not an easy ride too, as he had to dislodge William Gallas first, and in the following season he picked a fight with Mourinho. But it worked out well for the Portuguese footballer in the end.

Now Baba can feel relaxed that there are some minutes to come for him, however, it may not be in today’s game.