If Jose Mourinho doesn’t chomp on their generously baited hook first

Reports from Italy are claiming that Inter have offered World’s Number One Ladies Detective unemployed manager Jose Mourinho a place to hang his expensive raincoat next season, and have placed a piece of paper upon a four-legged item of furniture agreeing to compensate him handsomely for the inconvenience. The sum involved is said to be £4 million a year for the next four years.

There is, however, an obstacle. Inter have a couple of chaps by the name of Mr Branca and Mr Oriali who make all the decisions about who to sign, who to sell, how much to pay them, and so forth, decisions which Jose Mourinho is likely to want to make himself, having personally experienced the burning humiliation of having unwanted players foisted upon him before. Mr Branca and Mr Oriali are good friends of Inter owner Massimo Moratti.

Should the Mourinho project flounder, the name Rafa Benitez is next on the list. It can’t have escaped Mr Moratti’s attention that while

The Gazzetta dello Sport, the big fancy paper of Italian football, reported this morning that Inter Milan’s euro’d-up owner Massimo Moratti recently had a romantic date with Jose Mourinho in London.

» As the top mystery in football at the moment is what happened to change the Special One’s mind regarding taking over the England job (besides realising it was an utterly thankless task), the implication of the Gazzetta story is clearly that Mr Moratti would like Mr Mourinho to run away with him to Milan improve on Inter’s position at the top of Serie A. Link

» Perhaps the England job doesn’t look so tough after all… Link

» The implication of the Gazzetta story is clearly that Mr Moratti would like Mr Mourinho to run away with him to Milan improve on Inter’s position at the top of Serie A. Link