Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believes that his old side will bring the Premier League title back to Stamford Bridge with Jose Mourinho at the helm.
Hasselbaink scored 87 goals during his four years at the West London club and left in the same summer that Mourinho arrived for his first spell at Chelsea, where he won the title in his first season and the Dutchman believes that he’ll be able to repeat the trick, but it may take a little more time before he gets them playing the way he wants.
The 41-year-old told the FIFA website:
“If anybody can guide Chelsea to the Premier League it’s Jose Mourinho. I do think that they will become champions.
“The only thing is that this job is totally different to when he first came to Chelsea. He’s got lots of young players, he has to start all over again and bring in a structure. He has to integrate a lot of people, put his beliefs on to them and that will take a little bit of time before that team is a Jose Mourinho team.”
(IBT)
It is a much tougher job for Mourinho this time around as he’s coming into an outfit that has established itself as one with a winning tradition, a tradition that he started when he helped them win back-t0-back Premier League titles during his first stint, but this time there is also an expectation for Chelsea to play a certain way with the players they have at their disposal and it’s up to him to find that balance.
Chelsea are currently 4/1 to win the Premier League title according to 888sport.com and represent a decent bet if you have faith in Mourinho to best the likes of Manuel Pellegrini, David Moyes and Arsene Wenger over the long haul.
As for Hasselbaink, these days he’s busy coaching Belgian club Royal Antwerp and was even linked with a move back to England as Middlesbrough manager before Boro opted for Aitor Karanka, an old acquaintance of Mourinho’s. Hasselbaink’s Antwerp are currently sitting in fifth place in the Belgian second tier.
