Mourinho 'flies in for interview for job as England manager'

 

Last updated at 10:19am on 7th December 2007 Comments (15)

The FA's move to appoint Steve McClaren's successor appeared to have moved a significant step closer today amid rumours that bookmakers' - and fans' - favourite Jose Mourinho has flown to England for an interview.

FA chief executive Brian Barwick is set to offer the former Chelsea manager, 44, a £6million-a-year deal, it was claimed today.

 

It was reported the former Chelsea boss had arrived in the UK for an interview which, given his impressive CV and popularity among England supporters, would make him a near-certainty for the job.

However, it has also been reported that Mourinho is still in Portugal - and has no immediate plans to leave - and for their part, the FA have insisted no interview with any candidate has been arranged.

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Jose Mourinho with his wife Tami. The Portuguese manager is now the hot favourite for the England job

 

The mystery over Mourinho's whereabouts does add an element of farce to proceedings but no matter what the precise location of the 44-year-old, with FA chief executive Brian Barwick and director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking concluding their consultative process, they will shortly be in a position to make a move for the "world-class" candidate they are committed to.

Although Martin O'Neill's name continues to be mentioned, unless the Ulsterman reverses his stance on not leaving Aston Villa, it appears any short-list drawn up by Barwick and Brooking will be exclusively 'foreign'.

But Brooking is in favour of appointing an Englishman - and has apparently chosen West Ham boss Alan Curbishley.

The two are believed to be at loggerheads with Barwick insistent on an established big name rather than an Englishman for the sake of it. And according to reports, the relationship between the pair is strained.

 

However O'Neill told The Times today he thinks Mourinho would be "an excellent choice, simple as that".

Certainly the Portuguese would be the easiest choice given his working knowledge of the English game and senior figures within his camp have spent the last week urging the FA to get in touch, which it appears they have done, even if it is not to the extent of booking him a flight.

Yet there is still an element of doubt over his desire to abandon day-to-day club management.

In his own private conversation with the FA, Sir Alex Ferguson is sure to have repeated his public stance that if a younger man - and Mourinho fits into that category - proved to be a success as an international manager, he would immediately crave a club job, as witnessed by Alex McLeish and his surprise move from Scotland to Birmingham.

The FA is clearly getting close to making an appointment with Fabio Capello still a firm favourite among many senior figures in the game.

According to today's Independent, FA bosses have already met Capello for talks held in Milan last week at which he outlined his plans for the job and who he would want as part of his staff.

I don't see what the rush is... there's no England game until February. If he's on £6m a year that's a million quid without even sitting on the bench!