Valencia target Mourinho in bid to join Europe elite

Jose Mourinho last night emerged as the No 1 candidate in the search for a new Valencia coach after president Juan Soler sacked Quique Sanchez Flores. Club sources admitted that persuading the former Chelsea coach to take over at Spain's third club would be complicated but identified Mourinho as the dream choice of Soler.

Valencia are fourth in La Liga and still in with a chance of progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League, but ambitious Soler wants his side to join the European elite and so dismissed Sanchez Flores in the early hours of Monday after Valencia's 3-0 defeat at Seville.

If he manages to persuade Mourinho to take over at Valencia the Portuguese would be heading back to Stamford Bridge in six weeks when Valencia visit west London on 11 December in the Champions League.

The Spanish side are under-pressure to act quickly because they currently have inexperienced second team coach Oscar Fernandez in charge and that could yet see them recruit a stop-gap coach with the view to going for Mourinho in the summer, but it is understood they will still sound out the former Chelsea manager.

After firing Sanchez Flores, who last season took Valencia to the Champions League quarter-finals where they were knocked out by Chelsea, Soler said: "It was not an easy decision to make the change but we thought it was the only solution to achieve our aim of being one of the best in Europe."