Mourinho to finalise Chelsea deal

Jose Mourinho is set to fly into London today to complete the formalities of his move to Chelsea following the departure of manager Claudio Ranieri.

The Porto coach is almost certainly the man Roman Abramovich will entrust with bringing top honours to Stamford Bridge. The 40-year-old has great pedigree, after leading the unfancied Portuguese side to Champions League glory last week.

He admitted in the immediate aftermath of his team’s 3-0 win over Monaco in Gelsenkirchen that it was mission complete with Porto, and Chelsea have now cleared the way for him by announcing Ranieri’s departure.

A statement from the club yesterday read: “Chelsea Football Club today announced that Claudio Ranieri is to leave the club.

“Claudio has done a first-class job for the club and paved the way for future success. We would like to wish Claudio all the best for the future.”

It is believed that the news was broken to Ranieri by club director Eugene Tenenbaum, with chief executive Peter Kenyon informing his representatives early yesterday morning.

The Italian took Chelsea to second place in the Premiership and to the semi-finals of the Champions League but his departure indicates that that was considered a failure – putting incredible pressure on Mourinho if he does become manager.

For Ranieri that pressure has now been lifted. He is sure to be well received when he collects the Variety Club of Great Britain’s Man of the Year award tomorrow and by then a multi-million pound settlement could well be agreed.

His representative Jon Smith said: “We are negotiating the terms of the settlement.”

Smith revealed that Ranieri was keen to stay in this country, and was expecting offers to be coming in for his client.

“We have had to be very careful – up until a few moments ago he was manager of Chelsea, but we are assured that he is a man in demand. Whether that turns out to be the case we have to wait and see.

“Claudio loves England and if it is possible for him to stay here then he will,” Smith told BBC Radio Five Live.

Chelsea assistant manager Gwyn Williams insisted he “didn’t know” if Mourinho would be appointed, but added: “It has been well-documented and well-versed, but whoever comes in has got a tough task and I wish them well.”