Jose Mourinho: Massive Chelsea return decision reached as Boehly is given huge Graham Potter headache
Jose Mourinho has seemingly come to a firm decision on his Roma future and amid claims he is targeting a third spell as Chelsea manager, reports in Italy have claimed.
The west London side are currently in quite the transitional period after several months of upheaval. Firstly, Todd Boehly bought out Roman Abramovich after sanctions from the UK Government forced the Russian to sell up.
Prior to Abramovich’s exit, there had been fears that the end of his tenure would mark the end of Chelsea’s days as lavish spenders.
However, it has been quite the opposite, with Boehly burning through the best part of half a billion pounds on 17 new players.
Integrating all those new stars into the side, though, has proved a problem in its own right. And with few departures at Stamford Bridge, the club has found it difficult to work out their best side at times this season.
Furthermore, the club are also going through a major sticky spell under manager Graham Potter. He was the man chosen by Boehly back in September after the American opted to axe popular Champions League winning coach Thomas Tuchel.
However, with Chelsea on a run of just two wins from 14 games in all competitions, the knives are being sharpened for Potter. As it stands, the Blues are 10th in the Premier League and in grave danger of missing out on European competition next season.
To that end, one pundit has revealed what Abramovich would have done in the same situation.
And with a 1-0 deficit to overcome against Borussia Dortmund, they could soon see their Champions League hopes extinguished.
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Mourinho sets sights on Chelsea return
However, it’s claimed Chelsea are very much behind Potter and have no plans to call time on his reign. Indeed, David Ornstein claims Chelsea’s plan is to judge Potter over a year, rather than just a few months.
To that end, the Englishman will seemingly be granted more time to get things right at Stamford Bridge.
That said, a mjaor spanner in the works may be about to be presented by Mourinho.
The Portuguese firebrand is currently in charge of Roma, who are currently third in Serie A. Runaway leaders Napoli look like they will soon wrap up the title. However, Roma are among a pocket of sides looking to finish second.
Indeed, that position is currently held by Inter, with Roma three points behind the Nerazzurri in third.
However, just six points separates Inter in second and Atalanta in sixth. As such, the Giallorossi could finish with anything from Champions League football to UEFA Conference League football next season.
And now, according to il Gazzetta dello Sport, Mourinho will look to quit Roma if they don’t secure a UCL slot.
In addition, they state that with ‘many admirers in the Premier League’, England is his very obvious next destination.
Furthermore, and perhaps most crucially, they claim Mourinho has already made it clear that he wants a third spell at Chelsea as his next assignment.
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Mourninho verdict to give Boehly a headache
The 60-year-old has already had two spells at the west London club. Indeed, he led them from 2004 to 2007 and then again between 2013 and 2015. He has overseen three of the club’s five Premier League title successes during those spells.
With a seemingly open chequebook under Boehly, it’s easy to see why Mourinho has designs on a third spell.
Per Gazzetta, Mourinho has an order of job preferences ‘starting with Chelsea’. And they state he now intends to make a comeback there and ‘write more history’ at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho’s apparent desire to return to Chelsea, though, will surely test Boehly’s loyalty to Potter. Having made the big call to replace him with Tuchel, he will now be presented with another headache by Mourinho.
And knowing he could have an obstacle-free route for the Portuguese could certainly make him think twice. With Chelsea supporters perhaps feeling uncertain about the direction the club is heading, a return for Mourinho would certainly earn him redemption in many supporters’ eyes.
Mourinho reportedly still has property in London and operated from there when he was in charge at Tottenham.
