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Jose Mourinho wants to sign Romelu Lukaku again with the Chelsea legend now the manager of Turkish club Fenerbahce.
Less-than 24 hours after his appearance at the Champions League final, the Special One was in Istanbul for his official unveiling where he was greeted by several thousand raucous fans.
The former Manchester United, Tottenham and Real Madrid boss has signed a two-year deal with Fenerbahce with the aim of winning the side’s first league title since 2014.
In order to do so, the club are prepared to back the 61-year-old significantly, though who they will target may well depend on the outcome of the club’s upcoming presidential election.
Aziz Yildirim, who was previously in charge for 20 years until 2018, is looking to unseat incumbent Ali Koc, and revealed to reporters in Istanbul that he has already spoken with Mourinho about transfer targets.
He name dropped three, saying: ‘I mentioned the players. We said Lukaku. We said [Paulo] Dybala and [Anderson] Talisca.
‘We keep the rest for ourselves. I’ll tell you after I am elected.’
Lukaku has played under Mourinho at three different clubs before, namely Chelsea, United and Roma, the latter on loan from the Blues over the past season.
It appeared to be a harmonious reunion, with the striker scoring 21 goals and making four assists over 47 appearances.
The Belgian international has just two years left on the Chelsea contract he signed when he returned to West London in a record-breaking deal in 2021, and has no intention of returning to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have dropped their asking price to around £20million for the 31-year-old, which should make him attainable for Fenerbahce, though there is also interest from Napoli who are set to appoint Antonio Conte who won Serie A with Lukaku at Inter Milan.
Mourinho signed Dybala for Roma as well and the Argentine forward has just a year left on his contract, while attacking midfielder Talisca currently plays for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese coach has been out of work since getting sacked by Roma in January and previously won the Champions League with Inter Milan and Porto.
At his unveiling, he told fans: ‘I want to thank you for your love. The love I felt from the first moment my name was connected with Fenerbahce.
‘Normally a coach is loved after victories, in this case I feel loved before victories. That, for me, is a big responsibility. I promise you, from this moment, I belong to your family.
‘This shirt is my skin, football is passion. There is no better place to feel that passion.’
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