Chelsea manager search takes new twist as Jose Mourinho becomes favourite

Chelsea's search for a new manager took a surprising new twist on Friday which saw Jose Mourinho installed as favourite for the vacancy.

The Portuguese is out of work after being sacked by Roma earlier this year and was considered a weak outsider to have a third spell at Stamford Bridge, priced at 40/1 by bet365.

Ipswich's Kieran McKenna has topped the market for the majority since Mauricio Pochettino left Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening, with Leicester City's Enzo Maresca, Sporting's Ruben Amorim and former Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi also of interest.

Standard Sport understands that the Blues bosses are looking for a progressive, upwardly mobile coach for the position, a profile 'The Special One' no longer fits.

Which made the flurry of support for Mourinho with bookmakers all the more surprising.

bet365's Steve Freeth said: "From 10.15 until 10.50 this morning, every single bet we took on the next Chelsea manager was on Jose Mourinho, which goes against the grain of the reports of Chelsea wanting a young and dynamic manager.

"In that time his odds plummeted from 40/1 into 2/1 favourite."

Mourinho now sits as third favourite, behind Maresca and McKenna but still ahead of Amorim, De Zerbi and Brentford's Thomas Frank.