Mourinho has had two bids for the Manchester United striker rejected, but he has still not given up on bringing the 27-year-old to Stamford Bridge.
However, Rooney is not the only name to have been linked with Chelsea during the transfer window, and the Portuguese admitted on Tuesday that he had other targets.
Anzhi Makhachkala striker Samuel Eto'o has been linked with a reunion with the Chelsea boss - with the two having worked together at Inter - after the Russian club made it clear that their top stars would be available.
The 50-year-old refused to give away the names of the other candidates on his shortlist, though, insisting that he would conduct his business in an "ethical" way.
"We have Plan B and C," Mourinho admitted. "Don’t ask me names because it is difficult to speak about players from other clubs.
"When you think that you’d like to have one player and the market is open and the official bids are not forbidden – official bids are always accepted in an ethical way – you try because nobody forbids you to try.
"Of course, the players’ owners can do exactly what we did with David Luiz and Barcelona. It’s simple.”
Chelsea have added Mark Schwarzer, Andre Schurrle and Marco van Ginkel to their squad during the close-season, but a move for Rooney remains their number one target.
