Porto comments push Villas-Boas out to 5/1 to take charge of Chelsea
Published:Andre Villas-Boas would reject any approach from Chelsea according to Porto president Pinto da Costa.
Not only would it cost Chelsea £13.1m to buy Villas-Boas out of his release clause, but Roman Abramovich would also have to convince Villas-Boas that Chelsea is the right destination if the Porto president is to be believed.
Villas-Boas was trading at 4/1 to be the next Chelsea manager yesterday but is now 5/1 as the support grows for the likes of Harry Redknapp (3/1) and Marco van Basten (2/1) – Guus Hiddink is still the favourite to land the job at 6/4.
Having led Porto to an unbeaten league season which culminated in a league title, the domestic cup and the Europa League cup Villas-Boas has become the hottest property in world football.
Having worked under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, the Porto manager looks the ideal fit to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge although it is believed Abramovich is worried about taking a chance on a manager who has just one season under his managerial belt.
Despite the assurances of the Porto president to the fans of his club, it would be hard to see Villas-Boas turning down the chance to manage at the highest level, especially at a club he already has links with.
With Hiddink looking less and less likely to fill the managerial position and with Mourinho ruling himself out of the running, Villas-Boas would be the favoured appointment with the Chelsea faithful.
Van Basten has never won a trophy in his seven-year managerial career and while Redknapp has worked wonders with Tottenham Hotspur, he was also relegated with Southampton in the 2004/05 season.
Villas-Boas is a young exciting manager whom Roman should be willing to take a gamble on, and at 5/1 to replace Ancelotti, punters should be making the gamble too.
A £10 stake on Villas-Boas being the next Chelsea manager would return £60. Sign up here to take advantage of a free bet worth up to £30.
