This is going to be the biggest "will he, won't he" saga since last year, when Eden Hazard was reported to be on the verge of signing with roughly all the teams in the world at one time or another. Of course, it's the next destination of The Man with the Golden Touch, The Special One, the one and only Jose Mourinho. He is currently manager of the trainwreck formerly known as Real Madrid, but it's widely assumed he will be relieved of his duties at the end of the season. This is the source of the circus of speculation.
As I've touched on before, such a hot commodity coming onto the market is bound to create a mountain of speculation about his eventual destination. Most of the stories you'll see on the subject will be utter crap without so much as a single quote or hint of a source. Today, however, a story has been going around that contains both a source and a quote, and a somewhat-reputable source at that. You see, rather than Seamus O'Toole from Kilkenny raving about Jose returning to the Bridge, it's a man well-known to Chelsea fans. It's Ruud Gullit. The man who was said, during live coverage of the club's historic night in Munich, to know the location of Roman's secret victory party in the city.
In other words, this is a man, and, lest I forget, former-player-manager, who has a pretty close connection with the the club and its owner. When he says something about Chelsea, the natural reaction isn't to dismiss it as a fantasy. Of course, we can't take it at face-value either, but it's worth listening to. As reported here in The Independent, and most other major papers today, the Dutchman has said the following to Talksport:
"I had a feeling already before the (Champions League) final that Mourinho was maybe coming to Chelsea," said Gullit.
"From the moment Chelsea won it (the Champions League) I think Mourinho said no because it’s not a coincidence that he signed his contract just after, and therefore my instinct says he will be appointed.
"Chelsea want him for next season. That is my feeling, if it’s right I don’t know. I have no proof of that and I said it already before the (Champions League) final.
"That’s my feeling and therefore it also took a while for Chelsea to find somebody new because they wanted somebody else but who wants to go to a team that has just won the Champions League?
In addition to his thoughts on the relationship between Jose and Chelsea in the future, he added a few words on the situations of Roberto di Matteo and Rafa Benitez:
"He would have known that before (that he would be unpopular) but he wanted the job anyway so you have to deal with it.
"It’s not an easy job, especially after winning the Champions League with Roberto. I still feel for Roberto, I still think it’s unfair."
There you have it. That's reasonably-big news for Chelsea fans. While nothing is, as yet, proven, or even shown to be probable, the quality of the voices claiming Jose Mourinho will soon retake the mantle of Geezer in Chief is steadily improving. It's an attractive assumption. Jose wants out of a toxic atmosphere in Madrid, and Roman wants both a winning manager and one who will appease the fans alienated by the appointment of The Penguin. It's simply an assumption at this point, though, so we'll, as always, have to wait for the official announcement. It looks like we'll definitely be stuck with The Penguin for a few more months until he can be replaced at the end of the season, though. : (