Chelsea close in on Mourinho

Chelsea are poised to open talks aimed at making Jose Mourinho their new boss following a brief delay caused by a trip to Milan to speak to the Italian champions.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon was in Germany on Wednesday night to witness Mourinho’s Porto side defeat Monaco to win the Champions League.

He then travelled to Milan yesterday with owner Roman Abramovich, although both Chelsea and AC Milan have denied this was to discuss transfers.

It is difficult to imagine what else the meeting was about, even if Andrei Shevchenko has just signed a new contract with the Italian club.

However, Kenyon, who may also be seeking to sell Juan Sebastian Veron to Inter Milan, reportedly told the Italian media: “On this occasion, we went only to meet [AC] Milan. We have known Milan’s officials for some time and we respect them. It was a general meeting and we have absolutely not spoken about players.”

Milan’s chief officer, Adriano Galliani, added: “Nothing in particular happened. Milan keep their players and Chelsea too. I swear we have not spoken about players.”

Either way, Kenyon was nevertheless set to turn his attentions to making the final steps to ensure Mourinho is in place as Chelsea’s new coach this summer.

The Porto boss yesterday told Portuguese channel Sport TV: “I have some offers in my wallet but one which I very much want to accept, which is that from Chelsea.”

Indeed, he is understood to have already given Chelsea his word that he will join them on a highly-lucrative, four-year contract, confirming after the success against Monaco that “I don’t change my mind“.

Mourinho has still had to speak to Porto about his departure from the club, where he has won not only the domestic title, but also the Champions League and last season’s UEFA Cup.

Chelsea, meanwhile, need to finalise details of personal terms and transfer plans with the 41-year-old, while also agreeing a severance deal with Claudio Ranieri, who could be due up to £7m (€10.5m) if his contract is paid off in full.

The club do not expect to make any official announcement until early next week, although reports in Portugal have indicated that Mourinho was due in London today for talks.

Chelsea are publicly keeping quiet on the situation, although club officials are confident that the deal will go through in the next few days.

Kenyon confirmed earlier this week: “I think we’ve got to get things resolved next week and start planning for next season.

“This isn’t a holiday period for us, this is about preparing for next season. We’re fully involved in that process and that’s what we’ll be getting on with next week.”