Jose Mourinho: Esteban Cambiasso means a lot to me, he has been phenomenal for Leicester

The Chelsea boss won the Champions League with the Argentinian, but Cambiasso may have a hand in delaying his Premier League party

Jose Mourinho believes Leicester have enough about them to survive in the Premier League (Getty)

Jose Mourinho always speaks of becoming 'champion'. Singular. While many assume this is just a case of his broken English confusing matters, winning the Premier League title will be his first domestic league success since La Liga in 2012.

The former Internazionale and Real Madrid manager likes to control his own nicknames. He wasn't too appreciative when reporters flipped his 'Special One' tag to the 'Grumpy One'. But Mourinho doesn't mind as long as he is champion.

His Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España conquests in Spain pale in comparison to winning the Premier League and dislodging Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini from his champion status.

The 52-year-old isn't taking Leicester City, who they face on Wednesday night, lightly either and has his squad training at St. George's Park in Burton ahead of the clash.

Esteban Cambiasso lifts the Champions League with Inter Milan (Getty)

He will come up against Esteban Cambiasso at the King Power Stadium, the most successful Argentine to have ever graced a football pitch and a dear friend of Mourinho's.

The pair were imperious at the San Siro as Inter lifted two Serie A titles, the Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana and, most importantly, the Champions League in just two years.

Had the Blues boss challenged Nigel Pearson for his signature in the summer, it wouldn't have been a contest.

Cambiasso has been other-worldly for Leicester this season, providing the spark for a stunning revival in form which has taken the Foxes from bottom, seven points adrift, to 17th in just four weeks.

Esteban Cambiasso makes it 3-3 during Leicester's win over Manchester United in September (GETTY IMAGES)

"I won the treble with Cambiasso," said Mourinho. "He belongs to my golden team at Inter. He is one of the players who means a lot to me.

"He has been phenomenal for them (Leicester) so I am very happy for him. When Inter renovated their team, for the worse, maybe he felt it was not his Inter anymore.

"Next season, if he wants to, he will play with Leicester in the Premier League, for sure."

The Chelsea boss, who needs just five points to become 'champion' once more, may sound presumptuous when speaking of Leicester's chances of survival, but he basis it on their levels of performance.

Esteban Cambiasso celebrates the win at Burnley with Rob Huth (Getty)

"I was surprised by their bad position," he added. "But I am not surprised they are out of the relegation zone now and I will not be surprised when they stay in the division.

"We played them very early in the season at Stamford Bridge (a 2-0 win for Chelsea) and I immediately saw the quality of the team."

The Foxes had been rooted to the basement of the table since November, for a total of 140 days, but last week's 1-0 away victory over Burnley allowed them to unshackle themselves from the drop zone.

Although Pearson remains understandably wary that careless talk costs points, Mourinho said Leicester have a superior squad to their relegation rivals.

Jose Mourinho was in a good mood ahead of the trip to Leicester (Getty)

"I think that, yes," he added. "They have lots of players, that squad is a good squad.

"You look at them and they have two players for every position, starting with the goalkeeper and finishing in the striker position.

"I think their situation is very good. They have options in every position, more home games than away games, and they play the teams in the same area as them in the table.

"Chelsea is an extra game for them, so their situation is very good. For the quality of that team, I think they are going to survive."