Jose Mourinho abandons Man Utd return wish amid Chelsea ‘homecoming call’ and mega-money job offer

Jose Mourinho is reportedly prepared to ditch his plans to return to the Manchester United hotseat amid claims he has received massive job offer and has also seemingly set his sights on a third spell at Chelsea.

The Special One is currently out of work having been indignantly dismissed by Roma some five months before his contract was due to expire and having led the Serie A side to successive European finals. But the 61-year-old is not expected to be out of work for long, having already found himself in quick demand and linked with a series of top jobs.

Having won trophies at every club he has worked at, excluding Tottenham, Mourinho will take his time before deciding on his next challenge and having already had success in his native Portugal as well as England, Spain and Italy.

To that end, Mourinho has been mentioned as a possible successor to Eddie Howe at Newcastle, while he is also reportedly the subject of multiple job offers from Saudi Arabia, where he could undoubtedly earn himself a massive pay-day.

However, it was claimed recently that Mourinho is ‘on a mission’ to return to Old Trafford, where he reportedly feels he has ‘unfinished business’ as Manchester United manager.

The Portuguese coach was axed by the Red Devils in December 2018, after just over two years in charge, but having led the club to two major trophies in that time.

And with Dutch coach Erik ten Hag coming under pressure in recent months, the speculative report claimed that Mourinho has let it be known to minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe that he was available to take charge for a second spell if required.

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Mourinho to turn focus on taking Chelsea job

However, reports in Spain now claim Mourinho will abandon his quest to return to Old Trafford and is instead now intent on securing a third spell at the helm with Chelsea.

Indeed, while Maurico Pochettino has come under fire in recent days after Sunday’s 4-2 home defeat to Wolves saw the Blues slip into the bottom half of the Premier League.

And while Pochettino has since claimed he retains the backing of the Chelsea hierarchy, it cannot have escaped his attention that his record now stands equal to Graham Potter when he was also fired by the Blues last spring.

Pochettino did himself the world of good, though, on Wednesday night as Chelsea secured a fine 3-1 win at Aston Villa to reach the FA Cup fifth round in what many feel was their best performance under the Argentine so far.

Nonetheless, Pochettino remains a man under severe scrutiny and a list of potential targets has already reportedly been drawn up to succeed him – with that man Mourinho rated second favourites to return to SW6.

To fuel those rumours, reports in Spain claim Mourinho has now ‘ditched Man Utd for a homecoming call’ from Chelsea and ‘could have already decided what will be his next destination’.

Those fanciful rumours are backed up by claims that Mourinho has also ‘rejected’ advances from clubs in Saudi Arabia and the offer of a ‘stratospheric salary’.

Furthermore, it’s now claimed Mourinho has made it clear he is not yet ready to coach in the Gulf State, believing he has more years left at the top level. As such, he is now planning a return to the ‘elite level’ with a move back to the Premier League seen as ‘most likely’.

Pochettino does himself big favour at Chelsea after FA Cup win at Villa

In addition to Mourinho, Chelsea have also been linked with the likes of Girona coach Michel and Liverpool target Xabi Alonso.

However, more performances like seen on Wednesday night at Villa, can see the pressure quickly ease on the Argentine, who only has a 46.88 win percentage record since moving to Stamford Bridge.

And Pochettino readily admits that he was thrilled by what he saw at Villa Park, with his side setting up a home clash with Leeds for a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

“It was one of the best performances of the season,” Pochettino told the BBC after their 3-1 success.

“I think the players really enjoyed the game and yes, I think we played well against a very difficult team. Aston Villa are doing a terrific job – they are in a position in the top four and they are, I think, the second-best team playing at home.

“Too many things happen when you lose a game. I am older than them and I think I take these things in a different way. But we are Chelsea, we need to accept that Chelsea provoke these things. The expectation is massive. Sometimes the expectation is not easy because we are still a young team. But we are growing in a really good way.

“To be in the final of the Carabao Cup and now in the next round of the FA Cup, I think playing this way we can win more games than we lose.”

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