The 3 Manchester United And Chelsea Players Jose Mourinho Could Look To Sign If He Became Real Madrid Manager

It seems increasingly likely that Jose Mourinho will be returning to The Bernabeu this summer as he is now the firm favourite to be named permanent Real Madrid manager, replacing the caretaker boss Guti this summer.

Mourinho has quite a job on his hands if he did return to Spain and it seems likely that he would want to bring in a few players he knows. The Portuguese obviously has a pragmatic style that he will hope can still get results in the modern world of football, despite his dismal spell with Manchester United, and we take a look at THREE of his former players that he could be tempted to sign if he were appointed as Real boss...

David de Gea (Manchester United)
Talks over a new contract for the Manchester United goalkeeper, whose deal expires in the summer of 2020, continue to stall as the Spanish stopper apparently wants to earn as much as the club's top earner Alexis Sanchez. It is not an unreasonable demand and if contract talks were to fall through then Real could test United's resolve with a bid.

It is difficult to see which other top clubs De Gea could join and he does suit Mourinho's style as he is never going to be a keeper who can play out from the back in the mould of Alisson or Ederson. With Thibaut Courtois struggling for form at the Bernabeu and Keylor Navas now 32 years of age, David De Gea would be an ideal addition to a Real team managed by Mourinho.

Cesar Azpiliqueta (Chelsea)
Real Madrid boast an enviable array of riches in defence but a move for Cesar Azpiliqueta could be interesting. The right-back hasn't quite hit the heights in the Premier League this season as he appears to be growing stale at Chelsea.

The lack of leadership he showed during the recent Kepa incident in the League Cup final has seen his reputation at Stamford Bridge nosedive and the versatile 29-year-old would surely jump at the chance to move to La Liga.

Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
Nemanja Matic has long been a favourite of Mourinho but it is open to debate whether his ageing legs would be up to the job at the Bernabeu. Instead, a move for someone like Romelu Lukaku might not be completely out of the question.

Lukaku hasn't always been a favourite of Mourinho's but he scored 33 goals and laid on 11 assists in 73 appearances for him at United. Mourinho has long enjoyed having a main striker to his best teams - think Didier Drogba and Diego Costa - and with Karim Benzema getting on in years at Real, a move for the 25-year-old might not be completely out of the question.

It is a big call but Lukaku could find himself out of favour at Old Trafford thanks to the rise of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, and a move to Real would be a remarkable opportunity for a much-maligned player who is ranked 20th on the all-time list of Premier League goalscorers.