Are Chelsea turning Portuguese again?

It seems as though Roman Abramovich is a believer in lightning striking twice because he seems desperate to grab the current Porto manager, a man who is being touted as one of the brightest young managers in the world of football. If this all seems a bit familiar to you then you are spot on because it was the scenario when the Russian brought Jose Mourinho to Stamford Bridge. That came after the Special one had picked up the Uefa Cup and the Champions League, alongside domestic success. Andrea Villas-Boas has not had the chance to lift the European Cup yet but he has won the Europa League with Porto and absolutely destroyed the competition in the Portuguese league.

Is now the right time for Villas-Boas?

There is an opinion that the Porto manager could do with hanging around for another season and having an assault on the major competition in Europe before coming to take on a new challenge but football works at a fast pace and Abramovich is getting desperate. With pre-season looming, Chelsea are still without a manager, which will surely hamper the team as they look to reclaim the English title and have a serious crack at the Champions League once again.

Mark Hughes may have made a terrible mistake?

With delegates from the London club allegedly flying out to Portugal on Monday, the rest of the names linked with the post much be looking on enviously. The curious case of Mark Hughes resigning from his post at Fulham has become even more curious with the Villa post being filled and now the Chelsea one looking to be sewn up. There is talk that Guus Hiddink may still come as the Director of Football but with the Turkish FA wanting serious payment for the release of the Dutchman, Abramovich may hold firm. The Russian has a strong friendship with Hiddink and it may be that the Dutchman will offer advice and tips on a non-contracted basis.

The Portuguese club hold the aces in negotiations as their manager is under a reasonable contract and the buy-out clause is rumoured to be around 15m euros. It is standard practice in Portugal to have release clauses in contracts and although they do not have to be reached in order for a manager to be released from the contract, Porto are in no rush to let anyone go just yet. Of course, if Villas-Boas has no desire to remain at the club, it makes no sense to keep an unhappy manager but this is all part of the negotiations that take place in this sort of deal.

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