José Mourinho takes training but Chelsea future remains fragile

In Mourinho’s heart, and as somebody who knows that managers live or die by results, he is probably aware that he deserves to go but is struggling on, partly because of Chelsea’s lack of available, high‑calibre replacements.
Pep Guardiola is expected to leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season and come to England but it is highly unlikely that he would be tempted by Chelsea. Manchester City would be the favourites to hire him and Carlo Ancelotti, a former Chelsea manager who the club would be open to welcoming back, is expected to replace Guardiola at Bayern.
Guus Hiddink, another former Chelsea manager who is currently out of work after a disastrous spell in charge of Holland, appears to tick a lot of boxes but the prospects of him returning in a caretaker role are unclear. Most of the other potential targets are in jobs and unwilling to leave them in mid-season.

Advertisement

Chelsea say that the position over Mourinho has not changed, that he remains their manager, but that can change with one phone call from Abramovich.
His discussions with the chairman Bruce Buck, the directors Marina Granovskaia and Eugene Tenenbaum, and the technical director, Michael Emenalo, are ongoing.
The issue of compensation is moot, given that Mourinho only signed a new four-year contract last August. Chelsea’s general policy is to continue paying their sacked managers until they find another job.
Eden Hazard is a doubt for Saturday’s home fixture with Sunderland because of the hip problem that forced him off at Leicester but the damage is not thought to be serious.