Jose Mourinho might put the speculation surrounding Antonio Silva to bed by blocking an exit in January, which will be a blow for Chelsea.

According to TEAMtalk, Jose Mourinho’s return to managing in Portugal with Benfica will see a few changes made at the club. One of them is keeping hold of their key stars ahead of the January window, as the experienced manager is eager to hold on to defender Antonio Silva amid Chelsea’s interest in the 21-year-old Portuguese international.

Jose Mourinho made headlines a few days ago by becoming Benfica’s newest manager. It’s been more than two decades since the decorated manager left FC Porto after their Champions League glory back in 2004 to embark on a glowing managerial journey, starting with Chelsea at the time.

The experienced manager has since been part of Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham, AS Roma, and most recently Fenerbahce. He was sacked by the Turkish giants after failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, where they lost the qualifiers, incidentally to Benfica.

Benfica sacked their manager, Bruno Lage, overnight after their defeat in the Champions League opener against Qarabag. The Lisbon giants wasted no time in installing Mourinho at the helm, with the manager already planning some key decisions.

Of those, Mourinho will prioritise keeping Antonio Silva a the club amid heavy interest from Chelsea ahead of the January transfer window. The Blues are keen to bolster their defence, and have been scouting the 21-year-old Portuguese international since the turn of the year.

No Chelsea move for Antonio Silva in January

Chelsea are now facing the blockade from Mourinho in their pursuit of Silva, with the manager considering making the 21-year-old Portuguese international his centre-piece at Benfica. While Chelsea may have good relations with the Lisbon side over recent years, they are unlikely to succeed in the pursuit of the defender.

They may look at other names, with Marc Guehi considered a big target ahead of future windows. For January, Chelsea may look at other alternatives to Silva, given they have a problem in their backline, which makes signing a new defender imperative to have a good end to their promising campaign.