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Former Chelsea striker Jerrel 'Jimmy' Floyd Hasselbaink recently shared his take on Jose Mourinho as manager and his time at Stamford Bridge.
Hasselbaink made 177 appearances for the Blues. The Dutchman scored an impressive 87 goals and provided 23 assists. However, when Jose Mourinho was appointed as Chelsea manager in 2004, Hasselbaink's time at the club came to an abrupt end. The Portuguese manager decided to offload the player to Middlesbrough.
Mourinho decided to recruit Didier Drogba from Marseille, who proved to be a massive success at Stamford Bridge. However, Hasselbaink believes that Mourinho should have kept hold of him as he would have formed a deadly partnership with the Ivorian.
Speaking on Kammy and Bain's Proper Football podcast (h/t dailymail.co.uk), the current Burton Albion manager stated:
"I bet you that Mourinho had been told that I was a difficult lad, hard to work with and all that kind of stuff - which was not the case at all. They got Drogba - what a signing - but surely I could have featured alongside him. I've spoken to Mourinho, he said, "yes, I made a mistake there".
"I don't care what he said. He should have kept me and I would have had a medal.'
Mourinho arrived at Stamford Bridge as a European champion after winning the 2003-04 Champions League with Porto. He took an unheralded Porto side to European glory, beating the likes of Lyon and Manchester United along the way.
For that reason, the Portuguese gave himself the moniker 'The Special One'. His success with the Blues justified that nickname. However, Hasselbaink doesn't consider Mourinho special as he added:
"He's a brilliant coach, absolutely magnificent what he's done in football, but he was never the special one for me."
Mourinho left the west London club in September 2007, joining Inter Milan a year later. He is currently the head coach of Serie A side AS Roma, having previously managed teams like Real Madrid and United.
Chelsea are on course to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Barcelona
Aubameyang joined Barcelona in January on a free transfer after terminating his contract with Arsenal. He has been phenomenal for the Catalan club, scoring 13 goals in 24 appearances. However, Robert Lewandowski's arrival from Bayern Munich means the former Gunners striker is now surplus to requirements.
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel, who previously worked with Aubameyang at Borussia Dortmund, shares a close bond with the player. According to The Express, the transfer is nearly complete. Chelsea urgently needed to sign a striker after having let Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner return to their former clubs, Inter and RB Leipzig, respectively.
Amidst rumors of a move to the Blues, Aubameyang was recently spotted at Barcelona airport, adding smoke to the fire regarding a proposed move.
