Jose Mourinho wants Chelsea star as his first Fenerbahce signing
The legendary Chelsea player is currently the manager of the Turkish team Fenerbahce, and Jose Mourinho wants to sign Romelu Lukaku once more.
The Special One was met by thousands of boisterous supporters at his official unveiling in Istanbul, less than twenty-four hours after he made an appearance at the Champions League final.
The former manager of Real Madrid, Tottenham, and Manchester United has inked a two-year contract with Fenerbahce with the intention of leading the team to its first league championship since 2014.
The club is willing to support the 61-year-old heavily in order to do this, albeit who they decide to target may vary depending on the results of the club’s impending presidential election.
Aziz Yildirim, who was previously in charge for 20 years until 2018, is looking to unseat incumbent Ali Koc, and revealed to reporters in Istanbul that he has already spoken with Mourinho about transfer targets.
He name dropped three, saying: ‘I mentioned the players. We said Lukaku. We said [Paulo] Dybala and [Anderson] Talisca.
‘We keep the rest for ourselves. I’ll tell you after I am elected.’
Lukaku has played under Mourinho at three different clubs before, namely Chelsea, United and Roma, the latter on loan from the Blues over the past season.
It appeared to be a harmonious reunion, with the striker scoring 21 goals and making four assists over 47 appearances.
The Belgian international has just two years left on the Chelsea contract he signed when he returned to West London in a record-breaking deal in 2021, and has no intention of returning to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have dropped their asking price to around £20million for the 31-year-old, which should make him attainable for Fenerbahce, though there is also interest from Napoli who are set to appoint Antonio Conte who won Serie A with Lukaku at Inter Milan.
Mourinho signed Dybala for Roma as well and the Argentine forward has just a year left on his contract, while attacking midfielder Talisca currently plays for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese coach has been out of work since getting sacked by Roma in January and previously won the Champions League with Inter Milan and Porto.
At his unveiling, he told fans: ‘I want to thank you for your love. The love I felt from the first moment my name was connected with Fenerbahce.
‘Normally a coach is loved after victories, in this case I feel loved before victories. That, for me, is a big responsibility. I promise you, from this moment, I belong to your family.
‘This shirt is my skin, football is passion. There is no better place to feel that passion.’