Jose Mourinho returning to Chelsea is “more believable” than a second stint at Manchester United despite reports of his “unfinished business” at Old Trafford.
Both Chelsea and Manchester United have been linked with new managers this season amid growing scrutiny and pressure on Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag.
It looks likely that both will see out the season, when their positions will be reviewed, but Mourinho has inevitably been linked with a return to both clubs, with a report last month claiming the Portuguese boss wants to head back to United as he feels he has “unfinished business” with the Red Devils.
Despite those claims, former Chelsea full-back Glen Johnson – who played under Mourinho in his first spell at Stamford Bridge – believes a return to Stamford Bridge is more likely.
Johnson told Betfred: “He’s obviously a fantastic manager and regardless of whether there’s any substance to these rumours or not, there’s definitely some unfinished business between himself and Manchester United because he doesn’t usually go to these sorts of clubs and fails.
“If he went back, it would be no different to the club that he left in the first place because the squad still isn’t good enough and they’re not performing well on a consistent basis. However, Manchester United is still a giant of a football club and on paper, their team looks pretty bloody good, but something isn’t right there.”
“Jose going back to Chelsea seems more believable than him returning to Manchester United. He would certainly get the players attention and I think it could give fans and the club a lift but it doesn’t change all the issues that are affecting them at the moment.
“There’s still a lot of uncertainty going on at Chelsea and even a man like Jose can’t fix all those issues overnight. It’s not like the situation at Liverpool where they’re looking to replace one good manager with another because at Chelsea there are an awful lot of things that need fixing in the background, but the fans would love it if he returned.”
Mourinho is among the favourites to replace Pochettino but 90min claimed this week that he is ‘not seen’ by Chelsea as a good fit. The report adds:
‘There have been strong links to former manager Jose Mourinho, who is available following his departure from Roma, but he is not seen as a likely appointment in the current circumstances.
‘As was the case with Thomas Tuchel when the Chelsea ownership group arrived, it is not thought Mourinho is seen as a strategic fit with Chelsea’s model.
‘Instead, Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso, Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi and Sporting’s Ruben Amorim are among those admired, but there have been no formal discussions and nothing will advance beyond the current situation while Pochettino remains in the post because there is a desire to make it work with the Argentine.’
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