Why Mourinho wrote off Schurrle & Salah to bring Cuadrado to Chelsea

Exit the World Cup winner, enter the World Cup wizard. Farewell Andre Schurrle, the German with the medal every footballer dreams of owning. Hello Juan Cuadrado, the Colombian who could carry Chelsea to the trophy Jose Mourinho targets most.

The £26.8 million winger was the biggest signing of the January transfer window. If Chelsea win the Premier League, they might deem him the best, too. The Fiorentina flyer is the final piece in Mourinho’s jigsaw. The picture of a title-winning team could be completed with a player who contributes more to the team than the sold Schurrle, a player who is an undeniable upgrade on the loaned-out Mohamed Salah and who shares Willian's defensive strengths while offering more attacking incision than the Brazilian.

It is why, although Schurrle’s sale funded Cuadrado’s arrival, he should not be seen as a direct replacement. They are very different players. Schurrle brings more of a goal threat. He was Germany’s resident super-sub in the World Cup, scoring three times against fatigued defences. His strike at the Etihad Stadium may yet prove crucial in the title race. The criticism is that he didn’t contribute enough else.

Because goals weren’t enough for Mourinho. Schurrle averages one every 159 minutes – a rate that many a striker would love – over the last 18 months. Cuadrado’s come at a more sedate rate, one every 276. But while that remains very respectable, he won’t challenge Eden Hazard for the title of Chelsea’s most prolific midfielder. He isn’t supposed to.

As for the makeweight in the deal that brought Cuadrado to London, Salah was a poor man’s Schurrle, if a pauper possesses an £11 million signing. He was quick and direct, but without offering the same class. As most of his outings came against inferior opponents, his statistics ought to be better than the German’s. They aren’t.

Cuadrado’s signing shows a change of emphasis. He is an all-rounder, an attacker with the defensive nous to have operated as a right-back. He has the pace to lead counter-attacks and the stamina to be a one-man right flank. He has joined the contingent of Chelsea’s South American middle-distance runners, along with Willian and Ramires, but with the promise of craft to augment the graft. He is a hybrid: part athlete, part artist.

There is much to admire about Willian, the midfielder who is still running when the Duracell Bunny is knackered, but he brings far more industry than invention. It is an indictment of the Brazilian that the right-sided player who has fashioned most chances for Chelsea this season is not him, but marauding full-back Branislav Ivanovic