Jose Mourinho in line for shock Premier League return as odds slashed on him taking huge job

Jose Mourinho has revealed his two biggest regrets from his career in football management – and one of them involved Chelsea.

Mourinho is one of the most successful managers of all time, winning the Champions League twice and league titles in England, Spain, Portugal and Italy.

His career took him from being Sir Bobby Robson’s interpreter-turned-assistant at Barcelona, before becoming a manager in his own right.

His first major success was with Porto, where he won the league without losing a game and lifted a shock Champions League title.

Chelsea would beat Liverpool to his services and Mourinho would form a dynasty at Stamford Bridge, before winning a second European crown with Inter Milan.

The Portuguese then moved on to Real Madrid and won a La Liga title there, before returning to English football with Chelsea and securing a third Premier League crown.

Mourinho then had success – especially in comparison to what came after him – with Manchester United, winning three trophies in his first season, before mixed spells at Tottenham and Roma.

He’s now in charge of Turkish giants Fenerbahce – and has revealed what his two biggest regrets in football management are over the past 22 years.

Mourinho reveals his two biggest football regrets

Speaking to Correire dello Sport, Mourinho explained how Real Madrid president Florentino Perez tried to convince him to carry on at the Bernabeu in 2013 despite an unsuccessful season.

But the Portuguese turned him down and watched on as Real won the Champions League the following campaign under Carlo Ancelotti, beating Atletico in the final.

He said: “If we talk about matches, a lot [of regrets] because when you lose, you always think that you could have done differently, and I’ve lost a lot of matches.

“If you’re referring to professional choices, the not to Florentino. He told me, ‘Mou, don’t leave now, you’ve done the hard part and the good part is yet to come’.

“I knew it would be like this, but I wanted to return to Chelsea after three years in Spain of great struggles.”

His second regret, he says, was not leaving Roma after they failed to win the Europa League final against Sevilla in 2023. Mourinho was sacked by Roma in January 2024.

“After Budapest,” he said. “Not because of the mess [referee, Anthony] Taylor made [Mourinho was charged for abusive comments towards the match officials post-match], but because I didn’t leave immediately.

“I should have left Rome. I didn’t – and I was wrong.”

Jose Mourinho is planning a shock Premier League return despite having a deal with Fenerbahce.

Mourinho signed a €10.5 million-per-year contract to take the Fenerbahce job back in June mere months after being sacked by AS Roma.

But Mourinho expressed unhappiness at football in Turkey and made claims about title rivals Galatasaray being favourited and “nobody abroad wanting to watch the Turkish league” in a box office interview last week.

Mourinho spent has spent a good chunk of his coaching career in English football with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Spurs, and according to The Guardian, still feels as though he has unfinished business.

The newspaper claims Mourinho is eyeing up the Newcastle United job, seeing it as his best opportunity to manage in the Premier League again.

Mourinho is keeping close tabs on the situation and has asked intermediaries to be informed on any developments – particularly the future of current boss Eddie Howe.

The Portuguese socialised with Newcastle chairman Yasir al-Rumayyan at the Formula One Grand Prix in Saudi Arabia back in March when he was out of work.

Newcastle went five games without a win in the Premier League in a poor start to the season but recorded huge victories over both Chelsea and Arsenal.

That has eased pressure on Howe, who recently celebrated three years in the hotseat at St James’ Park. However the report notes that 46-year-old does not have long-term job security at Newcastle given the owners want Champions League football and the Magpies finished in seventh last season.

PSR rules have limited spending and made Howe’s job more difficult but directors Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi have left and they were both supporters of the former Bournemouth manager.

There has been reported tension with sporting director Paul Mitchell, who joined the club in July.

Jose Mourinho has revealed his true feelings about Chelsea as rumours intensify over the Blues board potentially deciding to part company with current manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Chelsea lost 5-0 at Arsenal on Tuesday evening, with four goals being scored in the second half.

The result piles more pressure on Pochettino, who blasted his players after the match had concluded.

He told reporters: “We conceded two goals and, in this moment, the team gave up. We were not in the game.

“Today, you can use any words to describe our performance. Our standards are not sustained for the bad days.”

Mourinho is now one of the leading contenders to take the role if Pochettino gets sacked, in what would be his third spell at the club.

The 61-year-old managed the Blues between 2004 and 2007, winning two Premier League titles, two League Cups and one FA Cup, while establishing Chelsea as a major force in English football under the stewardship of Roman Abramovich.

Mourinho was brought back to Stamford Bridge in 2013, and lifted a third Premier League title in 2015, as well as another League Cup.

Since then, the Portuguese has managed two other Premier League clubs, having taken charge of Manchester United and Tottenham.

Mourinho was asked about another return to Stamford Bridge last year, following the sacking of Graham Potter.

Mourinho, who was then in charge of Serie A side Roma, replied: “If you ask me, do I have somebody that I would love to take over from ‘my Chelsea’, let’s say that, yes I have. But I close my mouth.

In a separate interview 12 months earlier, he said: “Of course, my English connection is Chelsea, that’s the way I see things, as a Chelsea man after two periods of Chelsea and six years.

“I’ve been at big, big clubs with very good conditions. Chelsea, very good conditions. United, the same. Madrid, the same. Inter, the same.”

And after the Blues won the Champions League under Thomas Tuchel in 2021, he joked: “I don’t think it’s very difficult to coach at Chelsea because I was champion three times, Carlo Ancelotti was champion, Antonio Conte was champion.

“It cannot be very, very difficult because we won titles there. Chelsea always have great players and great squads and good coaches are happy to work with these clubs and with players who give you a very good opportunity to be successful and win titles.”

The bookmakers’ odds on the next Premier League manager to be sacked have been slashed with a new favourite emerging after Julen Lopetegui ‘parted company’ with West Ham.

As we enter the January transfer window and the second half of the season, we will likely see the recruitment of both players and managers.

Four managerial changes have already taken place.

In October, Erik ten Hag parted company with Manchester United and was replaced by Ruben Amorim.

Steve Cooper was relieved of his duties as Leicester boss in November before being replaced by Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Then, on December 15, Russell Martin and Gary O’Neil left their roles as head coaches of Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In recent weeks, several coaches may have experienced a few sleepless nights, with Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou under pressure after a poor first half of the campaign.

However, West Ham United’s Lopetegui, 58, has failed to improve the Hammers’ fortunes this season, with the team currently sitting 14th in the division.

Their home form is particularly concerning with just three wins in 10 league games at the London Stadium so far this term. The Guardian reports that the club’s technical director, Tim Steidten, has chosen to “stay away” from the training ground due to a breakdown in relationship with the Spaniard.

And talkSPORT reports that West Ham have already ‘parted company’ with the 58-year-old.

The outlet suggests that former Chelsea boss Graham Potter is “in talks” and expected to be named as a replacement for Lopetegui. Potter, 49, has been out of work since leaving Chelsea in April 2023.

But there is another manager who may be set to depart a struggling Premier League club.

Everton have endured a poor start to the season with just three wins from their 19 games and currently sit one point above 18^th place Ipswich Town.

Although Everton have played a game less than all three teams in the bottom three – Ipswich, Leicester City and Southampton – Sean Dyche is under huge pressure from the Goodison Park faithful.

A huge gripe that Toffees supporters have is his seeming unwillingness to change his approach during games. Dyche, 53, has made his name in the game by setting up his teams in a rigid formation focusing on defence ahead of attack.

And still, his side sports one of the best defences in the league, conceding just 25 goals, the seventh least in the division.

But to win matches, you must score goals, and Everton have netted just 15 times so far this season, the second least in the top flight behind Southampton on 12.

And with new owners, The Friedkin Group, at the helm, Dyche’s days could be numbered.

On Monday morning Sky Sports News reported “Everton’s new owners The Friedkin Group have been assessing the club’s direction and the future of manager Sean Dyche over the weekend.”

Dyche’s contract is set to expire in the summer, and this would arguably suit all parties, with the club set to move into their new stadium on Liverpool’s waterfront at the start of the 2025/26 season.

Next manager to be sacked odds via Sky Bet

Julen Lopetegui – 4/7

Sean Dyche – 11/8

Ange Postecoglou – 14/1

Ruud van Nistelrooy – 33/1

Ivan Juric – 33/1

Pep Guardiola – 40/1

Oliver Glasner – 50/1