José Mourinho takes training but Chelsea future remains fragile

José Mourinho took training at Chelsea yesterday morning but his job prospects remain fragile and the club's owner, Roman Abramovich, continues to deliberate over whether to sack him.

The manager is enduring the worst spell of his career, having presided over what is already a dismal Premier League title defence.

His team lost 2-1 at Leicester City on Monday night and they sit 16th in the table, with nine defeats from 16 matches and one point clear of the relegation places.

Chelsea’s implosion has been on of the most spectacular in recent history and one of the surprises has been that Abramovich has not already dismissed Mourinho. The Russian owner has fired managers for much less.

In Mourinho’s heart, and as somebody who knows that managers live or die by results, he is probably aware that he deserves to go but is struggling on, partly because of Chelsea’s lack of available, high-calibre replacements.

Unlikely

Pep Guardiola is expected to leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season and come to England but it is highly unlikely that he would be tempted by Chelsea. Manchester City would be the favourites to hire him and Carlo Ancelotti, a former Chelsea manager who the club would be open to welcoming back, is expected to replace Guardiola at Bayern.

Guus Hiddink, another former Chelsea manager who is currently out of work after a disastrous spell in charge of Holland, appears to tick a lot of boxes but the prospects of him returning in a caretaker role are unclear. Most of the other potential targets are in jobs and unwilling to leave them in mid-season.

Chelsea say that the position over Mourinho has not changed, that he remains their manager, but that can change with one phone call from Abramovich.

His discussions with the chairman Bruce Buck, the directors Marina Granovskaia and Eugene Tenenbaum, and the technical director, Michael Emenalo, are ongoing.

The issue of compensation is moot, given that Mourinho only signed a new four-year contract in August. Chelsea’s general policy is to continue paying their sacked managers until they find another job.

Eden Hazard is a doubt for Saturday's home fixture with Sunderland because of the hip problem that forced him off at Leicester but the damage is not thought to be serious.

Elsewhere, Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero has returned to full training as he steps up his recovery from a heel problem ahead of Monday’s televised trip to Arsenal.

Agüero has missed City’s last four games in all competitions due to the injury sustained in the 3-1 Premier League victory over Southampton on November 28th.

The club announced yesterday that the 27-year-old Argentina international had returned to normal training with the full City squad that morning.

And the statement, accompanying pictures of Agüero taking part in training, added: “Provided there is no reaction, [City manager] Manuel Pellegrini will hope to have Agüero available for the trip to the Emirates Stadium.”

City are currently third in the table, a point behind second-placed Arsenal and three adrift of leaders Leicester. Guardian Service