Former Chelsea ace and world football great, Ruud Gullit, has risked the wrath of the current owners of the West London outfit, by appearing to support the return to the club of a controversial character.
Gullit’s words still hold weight, so news that he believes that Jose Mourinho could spark an upturn in the Blues fortunes will likely have raised a few eyebrows.
Ruud Gullit has put forward Jose Mourinho as Chelsea manager
“Mourinho could do that, with young players, oh yeah he can,” he said on beIN Sports (h/t football.london). “I think he can [be successful].
“[…] I like Mourinho, I like him. I think what he’s done has been unbelievable. He’s been in a difficult situation. He was sometimes taking attention to the wrong things but I think he still has it.”
At present, Mauricio Pochettino still has the backing of Todd Boehly, though if the Argentinian doesn’t get Chelsea into the Champions League this season, there’s reason enough for the American to dispense with his manager’s services.
With 12 games left of their Premier League season, the Stamford Bridge outfit are marooned in 11th position on 36 points.
That’s a gargantuan 19 points behind Aston Villa who are currently in fourth, the last place that would effectively earn a berth in the premier European competition next season.
At this point Pochettino’s men have got to work hard and fast to even get themselves into the Europa Conference League, the third tier UEFA competition and one that would be acutely embarrassing for a club with the two most expensive acquisitions made by an English club in their ranks.