Jose Mourinho to raid Chelsea for mega-money star Enzo Maresca is ready to axe

Jose Mourinho is the new manager of Fenerbahce and is reportedly considering making an unwanted Chelsea star one of his first signings.

The Portuguese coach will be tasked with building a squad capable of winning the Turkish Super Lig and qualifying for the Champions League.

Fenerbahce have the opportunity to progress to the 2024/25 UCL group stages if they progress through the qualifier rounds in the coming months.

The Turkish giants plan to back Mourinho in the transfer market to achieve their goals and the Special One is reportedly eyeing a move for Romelu Lukaku.

Mourinho has an excellent relationship with the Belgian international thanks to their time together at Manchester United and Roma.

Lukaku spent 2023/24 on loan with the Giallorossi and scored an impressive 21 goals in 47 appearances across all competitions.

The 31-year-old heads into this summer’s Euros in red-hot form as he aims to fire Belgium to the first major trophy in their history.

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Lukaku is on a staggering £325,000 per week with Chelsea and they are working hard to find a buyer for him this summer.

Roma would love to sign the striker on a permanent deal but it’s unclear at this stage whether they can match his £38m price tag and his wage demands.

Fenerbahce presidential elections to affect transfer plans

As things stand, Mourinho is not in a position to actively pursue his main targets due to Fenerbahce’s upcoming presidential elections.

Current incumbent Ali Koc is facing a fight to retain hold of his position, with rival Aziz Yildirim eager to fight his case by holding discussions with Mourinho.

In a recent press conference, Yildirim wasn’t shy about revealing who Fenerbahce will target if he’s elected, including Lukaku.

He also added that the Turkish giants wouldn’t have appointed Mourinho had he not suggested it.

“If I had not said Jose Mourinho, would they have gone and agreed? They do what I say.

“I also mentioned the players. We said Lukaku. We said [Paulo] Dybala and [Anderson] Talisca. We keep the rest for ourselves. I’ll tell you after I am elected.”

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see whether Fenerbahce launch a concrete offer for Lukaku in the coming weeks.

As mentioned, Chelsea are desperate to get Lukaku’s huge wages off the books. He isn’t part of Enzo Maresca’s plans, with the Blues boss looking to sign a new, younger striker this summer.

Several players are likely to leave Stamford Bridge as the London club look to balance the books and fund Maresca’s transfer plans.

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