Rumours of Mourinho taking over Portugal job gather pace, Rui Jorge could be an interim

The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) announced the departure of Santos on Thursday and stated they would start work on finding his successor imminently.

Initial rumours emerged of the possibility of Mourinho assuming control of the Portuguese national team immediately in a part-time regime, coupled with his duties at Roma. However, Flashscore.com sources understand that this arrangement has been ruled out and was never realistically on the table.

Mourinho is in his second season in charge of the Roman club and, as is understood, does not wish to leave the project in the middle of the season.

Curiously, the Portuguese coach arrived in Portugal this Thursday, heading to the Algarve for a week-long training camp with Roma, who will play three friendly matches against Cadiz (Spain), Casa Pia and RKC Waalwijk (Netherlands).

Mourinho has never hidden the fact that taking over the national team is one of his career ambitions.

His arrival in his home country only roused speculation further that an agreement between the FPF, Roma and the coach could be in the works.

At this time, however, it appears more likely that Rui Jorge, the current Portugal under-21 coach, will take over the senior men's team as in neighbouring Spain, where Luis de la Fuente was promoted from the under-21s to the senior national team, taking Luis Enrique's place.

In Portugal's case, however, Rui Jorge's tenure is speculated to be interim, only until June 2023 to be precise, with Mourinho then expected to take over after the end of the European club season.