Having already locked up Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, Oscar, César Azpilicueta, and Lewis Baker to new long-term deals earlier this season, the Chelsea front office are reportedly turning their attention to the contract of the next key member of the club, the one only José Mourinho.
José Mourinho is expected to sign a new contract with Chelsea in the summer […] the Barclays Premier League leaders are eager to secure his long-term future by offering him a new four-year package
The finer detail and any increase on his existing annual salary of £8.5 million will be discussed in the summer, and may be contingent upon the west London club’s success in the present campaign. The Portuguese failed to win a trophy last season and, while Chelsea have been delighted with his progress since returning to the club 18 months ago, they want silverware at the end of the term.
-source: The Times
For whatever it’s worth, The Times are claiming an “exclusive” on this. Regardless of whether that makes you trust the report any more or any less, the report itself certainly makes plenty of sense. Mourinho will be halfway through the contract he signed when he returned to Chelsea, and the ideal time to renegotiate long-term deals is right about halfway or, at the latest, when there are still two years left. Which is where Mourinho will be this summer. And we’re all about stability and sustainability and other such -ilities, so it makes sense to keep the managerial position stable as well.
Should we end up winning a trophy or three, the negotiations will probably be a mere formality. While I don’t think a second consecutive season without silverware automatically would be grounds for not awarding a new contract, it’s probably best to just avoid that whole conundrum and win some things.
