West Ham United had the opportunity to appoint Jose Mourinho as their new manager, but the Portuguese tactician is now set to take charge of Benfica instead.

According to a report from Graeme Bailey on TBR Football, Jose Mourinho was open to a return to West Ham United, but he decided against waiting for an opportunity to return to England and has instead opted to join SL Benfica to rival his former club FC Porto, where he won the Champions League back in 2004.

Fenerbahce parted ways with the Portuguese manager towards the end of last month. While Mourinho is known to be a serial winner, his time at Turkiye came to an end without winning any silverware. Following the sacking, the 62-year-old has been on the lookout for a new job.

The former Chelsea and Manchester United manager was interested in the Nottingham Forest job when it became available. However, the Tricky Trees opted to appoint Ange Postecoglou as their new manager, given his strong relationship with their owner.

Jose Mourinho did not wait for West Ham

The former Real Madrid boss was keen on returning to England, and the report suggests he would also be open to the prospect of taking the West Ham United job, if and when it became available in the coming weeks.

Graham Potter took charge of the East London club at the start of the year. While West Ham were hoping the former Chelsea boss could help steady the ship, things have not really gone according to plan. The English manager has failed to get the desired results, and the pressure continues to mount on him.

If reports are to be believed, he was given a two-game deadline to turn things around. While they did win over Nottingham Forest prior to the international break, the defeat to Tottenham has once again raised question marks over his future at the club. Now, the game against Crystal Palace this weekend could have a massive say on his future.

Following his departure, Jose Mourinho would have been in pole position to take over as their next manager. The Hammers would have loved to have someone with his experience on their bench, and given his track record at Chelsea and Manchester United, he could have been an ideal acquisition to turn things around.

Mourinho has opted to join Benfica

The 62-year-old was not willing to wait for the opportunity once Benfica came forward with an offer. He was eager to return to Portugal and accepted their offer in a heartbeat. The Liga Portugal outfit sacked Roger Schmidt after a shocking defeat to Qarabag on Tuesday in the Champions League.

They straightaway decided to bring Mourinho to the club and managed to agree on personal terms with the Portuguese tactician, who is the only manager to win all three European titles. With an agreement in place, an official announcement is around the corner.