Premier League: Mourinho gives massive Chelsea hint

1May 2013

England - Premier League

After Real Madrid's painful Champion League exit, Jose Mourinho wasted no time alerting Premier League chairman to his availability...

Sitting in his Real Madrid press conference shortly after a third successive Champions League semi-final exit, the self-proclaimed Special One chose not to mince his words when asked about his future with the Spanish giants.

"I know in England I am loved, I know I am loved by some clubs, especially one. I am loved by the fans and the media who treat me in a fair way. I know in Spain it is different because many people hate me."

The 'one' he is talking about certainly needs no introduction after Mourinho brought two Premier League titles and three further domestic trophies to Chelsea before leaving under a cloud in 2007.

Such candid words are exactly what we have come to expect from Madrid's boss ever since he exploded on to the managerial scene with that 2003/04 Champions League triumph with Porto.

However, the big questions are whether his move to Chelsea is now guaranteed and whether or not this is the best thing for both parties?

If the 'Benitez to Go' market is anything to go by - with the unpopular Spaniard 1.01 to vacate the Stamford Bridge hot seat this summer - then Mourinho is as good as installed already.

It seems logical that Roman Abramovich should welcome his most successful manager back to increase his own popularity with fans, but there is no guarantees that their relationship will not fracture as it did before.

Right now, the Blues are in pole position for the top three, let alone top-four finish, with four games left having forged a point gap over Arsenal with a game in hand and are 1.76 to achieve this.

Despite sitting 20 points behind Manchester United at present and six behind City, with Mourinho in charge next season, you'd expect him to find a way of bridging that yawning gap and making Chelsea serious title contenders once more, given the calibre of squad at his disposal.

Chelsea are rated at 4.8 for the 2013/14 title currently.

The Chelsea job is not the only possible summer vacancy that the Premier League has to offer though.

Much may yet depend on whether he can deliver a second FA cup to the Etihad, but the 'Mancini to Go' market has Manchester City's Italian boss priced at 1.37 not to be in the Man City dugout at the start of 2013/14.

With Mourinho lurking and money no object for Sheikh Mansour, it's surely not beyond the realms to imagine the Portuguese rocking up in Manchester next season.