Nemanja Matic Defends Chelsea Strikers after Jose Mourinho Criticism

Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic has questioned Jose Mourinho's judgement regarding the club's strikers after the Portuguese boss criticised the options available to him after the defeat by Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League.

Mourinho is keen to add a striker to his squad this summer with Samuel Eto'o, Fernando Torres and Demba Ba having struggled this season. He has had to settle for other attacking formations due to a lack of striking options all season while in the defeat to PSG, the Blues began with Andre Schurrle through the middle.

But Matic, who joined Chelsea from Benfica in the January transfer window, has leapt to the defence of the club's forwards who have scored 25 goals between them this season.

"People who say Chelsea don't have any good strikers don't know anything about football," Matic told FourFourTwo football magazine.

"We have three very good strikers: [Samuel} Eto'o, {Fernando] Torres, Demba Ba. People who say this cannot have watched football."

Mourinho was secretly filmed criticising his strikers earlier in the season and is expected to boost his attack with a marque addition in the summer regardless whether the club succeed in attempts to win either the Premier League title or the Champions League.

Matic, who has impressed since arriving in the New Year, has defended his manager's comments and says they were meant in a light-hearted manner.

"[Mourinho's comment] was just a joke. He knows Eto'o better than anyone and knows he is an important player for us," Matic said.

"You saw the celebration [when Eto'o pretended to be an old man after scoring against Tottenham last month] - it's just a joke.

"We have a lot of good players at Chelsea - Oscar and Willian, too, for example. We are strong in all positions, and this is why it is so good to be part of this team."

Reports on Friday suggest Chelsea could offload all four of their attackers in the summer, with Torres, Eto'o, Ba and the on-loan Romelu Lukaku all departingm in a Stamford Bridge mega sale.