Jose Mourinho and Tammy Abraham worked together at Roma (Image: Getty)
The Chelsea manager merry-go-round continues to rumble on with another intriguing rumour that could see club great Jose Mourinho back at the club for a third time.
Chelsea’s search for a new man in the hot seat comes after they parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino this week. Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna has topped the market for the majority since Mauricio Pochettino left Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening, with Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca, Sporting’s Ruben Amorim and former Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi also of interest.
The Portuguese is out of work after being sacked by Roma earlier this year and was initially considered a major outsider to have a third spell at Stamford Bridge. However, those odds have now shortened dramatically to poise the question, could Jose really find himself back at the Bridge?
Mourinho enjoyed two spells at Stamford Bridge from 2004-2007 and again from 2013-2015. The former Inter Milan manager has had a trophy laden time with Chelsea winning the Premier League three times with the Blues over his two stints there as well as picking up an FA Cup in 2007, the League Cup in 2005, 2007 and 2015 and the Community Shield in 2005.
However, if Jose ever was to be installed as Chelsea boss for a third time there are several players he could bring with him from his time in Italy. Mourinho spent time in Inter Milan from 2008-2010, where he enjoyed Serie A winning success and then with Roma from 2021 to this year where he won the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2021.
So, who could Mourinho bring to Chelsea should he take the reins? AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori could be a shrewd signing with the England international coming through the ranks at Chelsea. Tomori could rival Axel Disasi and Levi Colwill, with Thiago Silva leaving the Blues this summer.
Mourinho was in charge of the club when Tomori was in the youth academy and a return to Stamford Bridge could also put him in a better position to make future England squads if he were to impress with his performances.
Another player Mourinho might feel compelled to work with again is Tammy Abraham. Former Chelsea striker Abraham excelled at Roma under ex-Manchester United manager Mourinho, with 26 goals in 81 appearances, before picking up a serious knee injury at the end of last season.
However, he made his return to action last month and got his first goal of the campaign against Napoli. It’s unlikely Boehly would sanction a move for Abraham with Chelsea most likely preferring to give minutes to current forward, goalscoring sensation Cole Palmer, Christopher Nkunku and Nicholas Jackson.
Other players Mourinho could look toward include Roma defender Evan Ndicka. Ndicka has been linked with Liverpool on and off and if Mourinho made a shock move to Chelsea he could well move for the Frenchman in a bid to steal him from the Reds. Ndicka was heavily linked with a move to the Premier League but ended up joining Roma and featured heavily under Mourinho in the first half of this year’s campaign.
If Mourino did want to bring defensive reinforcements with him, he may look to former Manchester United man Chris Smalling. Smalling has been a hit in the Italian capital since his switch to Roma in 2019 where he has made over 100 appearances at the Stadio Olimpico, and while it’s unlikely it does feel very Mourinho to bring in the former Manchester United man to join him for a third stint at the Blues.
Fikayo Tomori could find his way back at Chelsea under Mourinho (Image: Getty)
Another name is Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian played for Mourinho this season and scored 13 goals, however despite still being a Chelsea player after the Blues spent a staggering £97.5 million on him, it’s unlikely he would be brought in from the cold after having two loan spells at Inter Milan and Roma since he left the Blues in 2022.
While it does seem unlikely that Mourinho could once again walk through the halls of Stamford Bridge as the main man in charge, the Blues unpredictable nature under American owner Todd Boehly could see anything materialise.
On the strong rumours that ‘The Special One’ could be coming back to SW6, a bet365 spokesperson said: “From 10.15 until 10.50 this morning, every single bet we took on the next Chelsea manager was on Jose Mourinho, which goes against the grain of the reports of Chelsea wanting a young and dynamic manager. In that time his odds plummeted from 40/1 into 2/1 favourite.”
Could the unthinkable actually happen? As it stands Mourinho now sits as third favourite, behind Maresca and McKenna but who could ever underestimate what Jose Mourinho will do next?
Source: https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1903214/Jose-Mourinho-Chelsea-Signings-Stamford-Bridge