Six players sold too soon by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea

For the first time in Jose Mourinho's hugely successful career, he is searching for answers after a run of six defeats in 11 games.

The reigning Premier League champions are languishing in 15th spot, four points above the relegation zone and 14 behind Manchester City.

Rumours of dressing-room unrest have been dismissed by several first team players, and by the manager himself, who publicly insists the only ingredient lacking at the moment is confidence. Privately though, he must be desperate for new players.

For Mourinho, the January window – if he lasts that long in charge – cannot come soon enough. But it's the Chelsea manager's activity in the transfer market over the past few months and years, that must be playing on his mind more than anything.

It won't be lost on the 52 year-old that a growing list of players he offloaded at Stamford Bridge would be challenging for a starting position on current form.

Mourinho wasn't convinced by De Bruyne. Everyone else in the world is. Credit: PA

Kevin De Bruyne

Sold by Mourinho for £18m in January 2014, De Bruyne's creative genius at Wolfsburg persuaded Man City to part with £55m only 18 months later. When quizzed about the costly decision, Mourinho cited De Bruyne’s weak mentality as the main reason for letting him go. According to Chelsea’s manager, the Belgian winger “needs to feel important” and was “crying every day” for a move.

After setting a new record for Bundesliga assists in 2014/15, De Bruyne has quickly established himself as one of Man City’s key players this season, scoring more goals and assists than anyone in Chelsea’s squad, despite missing City's first four fixtures.

Mourinho, meanwhile, publicly criticised De Bruyne's international team-mate, Eden Hazard, last month for not working hard enough during matches. Perhaps Hazard is also starting to wonder whether leaving Chelsea can elevate his career to greater heights?

Mourinho opted for Oscar over Mata. Credit: PA

Juan Mata

Another player discarded by Mourinho, it came as a great shock to supporters of both clubs when Chelsea’s player of the year in 2012/13 was heavily linked with Man United. The Spanish international left Stamford Bridge during the same window as De Bruyne, for a fee in excess of £37m. With 12 goals and more assists than any other Premier League footballer the previous campaign, many felt Mourinho was making a mistake, particularly since Mata was joining one of Chelsea’s closest rivals.

At the time, Mourinho publicly backed Oscar as his preferred number 10, describing Mata as a “luxury player” incapable of adapting to his tactical framework. The attacking midfielder is now enjoying an even better goal-scoring ratio, as Man United’s most creative player. The Red Devils are ten points clear of Chelsea after nine games, with Oscar failing to hit the heights expected of him at Stamford Bridge.

Saturday’s defeat against Liverpool was only his fifth Premier League appearance this season, and just the second time he has completed 90 minutes. The only other occasion was also a 3-1 defeat, against Southampton last month.

Bertrand has impressed for England and Southampton this season. Credit: PA

Ryan Bertrand

Offloading England international Bertrand for £10m and spending more than double that fee on Baba Rahman raised a few eyebrows in the summer, and rightly so. Left-back Bertrand has matured into a fine player during countless loan spells over the past nine years. His impressive performance for Southampton at Stamford Bridge last month, when he stifled Willian's threat, proved the 26 year-old is worthy of rubbing shoulders with the world's finest players.

Last month, an injury to the surprisingly out-of-sorts Branislav Ivanovic forced Mourinho into a defensive reshuffle, resulting in Bertrand's replacement, Rahman, making his competitive bow. While the youngster may yet develop into a great player, it was a nervy and unconvincing debut. Baba’s lapse in concentration gifted Aston Villa a golden chance of taking the lead early on, and he's since made way for Kurt Zouma, a natural centre-back.

Mourinho admits he sold Tiago too soon. Credit: PA

Tiago Mendes

Mourinho didn’t make too many errors of judgement during his trophy-laden first spell in charge, but he admits that selling Tiago was “a big mistake”. Signed by Mourinho himself back in 2004, it took less than £7m for Lyon to prize the Portuguese midfielder away from Stamford Bridge. He helped Lyon clinch consecutive Ligue 1 titles before joining Juventus for a less successful three year spell, blighted by injury problems.

A move to Atletico eventually provided Tiago with the ideal platform to fulfill his potential in one of Europe’s strongest leagues, playing a crucial role in Atletico’s Europa League and La Liga winning teams of 2011/12 and 2013/14. At 34, he continues to be trusted with a place in Diego Simeone’s starting XI, more than ten years after Mourinho let him go.

Salah is now one of the most feared wingers in Serie A. Credit: PA

Mohamed Salah

Salah joined Roma for a season-long loan in August, and the Italian club can buy him on a permanent basis at any point during the 2015/16 campaign. The 23 year-old promised to inject new life into Chelsea’s 2013/14 title assault – arriving from Basel for £11m in January 2014 – but he only managed six Premier League starts in 16 months.

With Hazard and Willian very much Mourinho’s preferred wingers, the decision was taken to offload Salah and sign celebrated Spaniard Pedro from Barcelona. While Chelsea and Pedro continue to struggle in the final third this season, Salah has repaid the faith shown in him by Rudi Garcia with five goals in ten Serie A appearances.

Salah’s greatest assets are his pace, acceleration and finishing; three attributes lacking from Chelsea’s underwhelming Premier League performances this term.

Cech is enjoying life at Arsenal, 14 points clear of his old club Chelsea. Credit: PA

Petr Cech

Mourinho made it clear he didn't want Cech to join one of Chelsea's Premier League rivals in the summer, although secretly he knew that replacing the Blues legend with Thibaut Courtois effectively ended his Stamford Bridge days. The career of a professional goalkeeper spans for much longer than outfield players, and while Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba continue to wind down in MLS, Cech is still at the peak of his powers.

It must have been a difficult decision for Mourinho to place his faith in youth at the expense of one of his finest ever players, and perhaps one he regretted when a long-term injury to Courtois in September ruled him out for the remainder of 2015. Meanwhile at Arsenal, Cech is statistically the finest goalkeeper in the Premier League this season, with a better saves-per-goals-conceded ratio than any other stopper. The Gunners are 14 points better off than Chelsea, and their new number one could yet prove the key to winning a first league title in more than a decade.