Jose Mourinho Reportedly Eyed as Gary Neville's Successor at Valencia

Valencia will reportedly look to convince Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to take on the manager’s job at the end of the season, despite appointing Gary Neville on Wednesday.

In a shock acquisition, Los Che announced the former Manchester United defender would take over from Nuno Santo on their official website for the remainder of this term. However, according to Antony Kastrinakis and Charlie Wyett of the Sun, the La Liga outfit have eyes for a more experienced manager in the form of Mourinho.

“Many in Valencia believe Mourinho will come here next summer with Neville returning to England,” says a source quoted in their piece. It’s also suggested by Kastrinakis and Wyett the Chelsea manager would “relish the chance to challenge Barcelona and former club Real Madrid were he to be axed by the Blues.”

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According to Charles Sale of the Daily Mail, Neville rejected a five-year, £15 million contract offer from Sky Sports, for whom he has been working as a pundit, to take the job at the Mestalla.

The links are in place for this deal to potentially go ahead should Mourinho wish. As reported in the piece, the Portuguese coach’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is a known associate of Valencia owner Peter Lim.

Lim’s links with Neville—both men are stakeholders in Salford City—have been cited as a reason for the former defender taking on the job at the Mestalla Stadium, per Kate Burlaga of Sky Sports.

BBC Sport's Andy West agreed Mourinho would enjoy competing with the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid, although he admitted the prospect of the Chelsea boss joining Los Che is unlikely and he doesn’t want to see him return to La Liga:

Mourinho has endured an unexpectedly difficult time at Chelsea this term. After winning the title in 2014-15, the Blues have slumped out of the starting blocks this time round and already look to have relinquished their grip on the Premier League crown, trailing leaders Manchester City by 14 points already.

However, after negotiating some extremely rocky waters, which saw Mourinho pick up a stadium ban after a string of undesirable antics, the Blues boss seems to have calmed things down once again at Stamford Bridge. The pressure has subsequently ceased, and it seems unlikely he’ll be leaving the champions any time soon.

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As noted by Oliver Kay of the Times, while the Blues seem to be moving in the right direction, there is still a lot of work to be done:

Regardless of whether Neville struggles to succeed at the Mestalla, it’s a club which doesn’t seem like the right fit for the Portuguese coach. Even though there are links between Mendes and Lim, every job Mourinho has taken since he left Porto for Chelsea in 2004 is at an established, elite-level team which affords him money to spend.

The fact Valencia have turned to Neville, a sharp football mind but an unproven manager, is indicative that Los Che are not to that standard yet.

So don’t expect Mourinho’s focus to waiver despite these rumours; he’ll be acutely aware of the size of the task at hand when it comes to turning Chelsea’s season around.