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Chelsea are reportedly not open to bringing Jose Mourinho back to Stamford Bridge to replace Mauricio Pochettino.
The Daily Mail reports that the Blues have no appetite to appoint Mourinho for a third term. The Portuguese tactician is out of management after being sacked by Serie A side AS Roma in February.
Mourinho is the most successful manager in Chelsea's history, winning eight major trophies throughout two spells. He oversaw an impressive 124 wins in 184 games during his first stint at Stamford Bridge.
However, the west Londoners feel that reappointing their former boss would send the wrong message. They have other managers on their radar such as Sporting CP's Ruben Amorim.
Contacts close to Mourinho have remained tight-lipped over whether he'd be open to returning to Chelsea. His last spell with the club ended disappointingly and he was sacked in December 2015.
Pochettino's future is uncertain despite the club affirming that they are backing him. The Argentine coach arrived last summer but has failed to transform the club's misfortunes.
Chelsea sit 11th in the league, 19 points off the top four with 11 games remaining. Pochettino's side suffered a 1-0 defeat (a.e.t) to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final last month.
Ruud Gullit thinks Jose Mourinho would work well with Chelsea's youthful squad
Chelsea have been a club in transition ever since Todd Boehly became co-owner in May 2022. There have been vast changes from top to bottom at Stamford Bridge including a complete overhaul of the squad.
Pochettino has a young crop of players at his disposal. He fielded the Blues' youngest-ever Premier League lineup (23y and 21d) in a 2-1 win against Crystal Palace in December.
However, this has perhaps been problematic given their lack of experience. Their mentality came into question when they were beaten by Liverpool at Wembley last month in extra time after controlling the latter stages of regulation time.
Blues legend Ruud Gullit suggested that Mourinho would work well with the young squad. The Dutchman said (via Metro):
"He has young players and Mourinho could do that with young players. He can. I think he can. I like Mourinho. I think what he’s done is unbelievable."
Gullit added:
"He’s been in difficult situations. He was sometimes taking attention to the wrong things at time but I think he has it."
A large section of Chelsea fans sang Mourinho's name during their 2-2 draw away at Brentford (March 2). They also jeered Pochettino and the Argentine has failed to get the Stamford Bridge faithful on board amid a poor season.
Mourinho has had much success developing young talent during his managerial career. He oversaw the emergence of the likes of Didier Drogba and John Obi Mikel while with the Blues.
