Guus Hiddink 'would jump at chance' of return to Chelsea

The legendary Dutch manager took over at Stamford Bridge in February 2009 after the sacking of Phil Scolari - a job he held while also remaining in charge of the Russian international team.

And he enjoyed a hugely successful stint with the Blues, comfortably securing the Champions League spot that had been in jeopardy and winning the FA Cup.

With Jose Mourinho reportedly on the verge of the sack by Roman Abramovich, the Daily Telegraph's Matt Law reports that Hiddink "would jump at the chance to take on another interim position if Abramovich turned to him again."

Given the success of Hiddink, and his popularity with both players and fans - who begged him to stay on - all the pieces of the puzzle seem to fit.

Another former Chelsea manager is also currently unemployed: Carlo Ancelotti. But the former Real Madrid and PSG boss, who led Chelsea to the double in 2010, is reportedly not interested in going back.

"The nature of his sacking from Chelsea in 2011, just a year after winning a Premier League and FA Cup double in his first season in charge at the club, still rankles with Ancelotti," Law writes.

"Other than Abramovich, most of the Chelsea board and hierarchy, including technical director Michael Emenalo, who were responsible for firing him are still in positions of power."

Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola is still the bookies' favourite to be the next permanent manager of Chelsea, quoted as low as 5-2 by some companies, with Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone second favourite at around 7-1.

Guardiola has been strongly linked to Manchester City for some time, but the most recent reports have claimed that he is only interested in a Premier League job with a London-based club.

Hiddink would be an excellent choice for Chelsea should the Blues decide that they must get rid of Mourinho immediately. But we've no doubt that everybody at Stamford Bridge is hoping that it doesn't come to that. As Dan Levene pointed out in his analysis on this website yesterday, it's not just the £30 million cost of axing Mourinho, but also the potential hundreds of millions needed to re-build a squad that Mourinho has shaped to fit his particular vision.