Jose Mourinho’s new £30million four-year deal with Chelsea is expected to be signed in the coming weeks, with both sides satisfied with the progress of negotiations.
Mourinho is set to commit to the Premier League champions until 2019 and though Chelsea are not ready to announce the deal yet, there are no concerns on either side and both club and manager are anticipating the contract being signed imminently.
The relative ease of negotiations contrasts with the stormy relationship Mourinho had with the board of directors in his last spell at the club when he eventually left by mutual consent in 2007 as the acrimony became unmanageable.
But senior figures at Chelsea have stressed that board members, Mourinho (right) and owner Roman Abramovich now have far more experience in how to make the club run smoothly and that the manager’s current spell in charge has been characterised by co-operation.
Mourinho is expected to earn £7.5m a year and his anticipated signature on the deal will be seen as a significant staging post in his desire to build a legacy at the club.
Mourinho has previously been accused of short-termism, with his spell of three years and three months at Chelsea between 2004 and 2007 being the longest he has remained at any club.
But he has said that he would like to participate in a long-term project at Chelsea and see the current crop of young players mature in the first team.
Meanwhile, Chelsea target Toby Alderweireld has conceded that he does not know where his future lies.
The defender was on loan at Southampton from Atletico Madrid last season, and the Saints have an option to buy him this summer, but he is wanted by Mourinho, as well as Manchester City and Tottenham.
Alderweireld, who will speak to Atletico about his future when he returns from holiday, said: ‘The only thing I can say is that I’m happy in England, but it isn’t just up to me.
‘I don’t have an answer now, but it would be good to come back to England.’ – Daily Mail