Real Madrid’s Mourinho ‘happy’ with transfers despite Rodri miss

Yan Diomande topped Real’s transfers, and Jose Mourinho says he is happy despite missing out on Rodri to Barcelona.Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho says he is “very happy” with his squad, which he considers complete despite missing out on midfielder Rodri, later signed by rivals Barcelona.Los Blancos revamped their squad this summer, signing six players including record arrival Yan Diomande, Bernardo Silva and Marc Cucurella.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Big-spending Tottenham sign Brazilian winger Savinho from Manchester Citylist 2 of 4Premier League: Chelsea start Alonso era with thrilling 3–2 win at Fulhamlist 3 of 4Ex-Liverpool star Fabinho reunited with Mohamed Salah at Trabzonsporlist 4 of 4Arsenal sign Konsa from Villa as Premier League holders bolster defenceend of listHowever, Madrid’s approach for Rodri broke down, meaning that, beyond former Man City playmaker Silva, they have not strengthened in midfield.“For me the squad is closed, but the market is still open – you never know if a player will come and say ‘I’ve been benched twice and I want to leave,'” Mourinho told reporters on Tuesday.“In theory, no [more deals]… but something could always happen… In my head the squad is closed, and I have not asked for anyone. I am very happy with the players I have.”With midfield maestros Toni Kroos and Luka Modric departing in 2024 and 2025 respectively, Madrid have struggled to control matches.Mourinho’s side snatched a late 2-1 win at Espanyol on Saturday in their La Liga opener, starting with Silva and Federico Valverde together in midfield.Mourinho said French defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni was not ready to play against Real Sociedad on Wednesday.“He’s got a problem, the holiday time wasn’t enough [for him to recover], seeing the games approaching, the player wanted to try … but we’ve decided that you can’t start a season in suffering,” explained the coach.“You can finish a season suffering, the last couple of months, but you can’t start in August not at 100 percent.