Jose Mourinho back at Real Madrid. Just let that sink in for a second. The man who left the Bernabeu in 2013 with half the dressing room apparently not speaking to him might actually be walking back through those doors. Football never learns. Or maybe it does and it just does not care.
Look, nobody can deny what Mourinho did in his first spell at Real. Three league titles, a Copa del Rey, breaking Barcelona's stranglehold on Spain. The man delivered. But the way it ended, the fallout, the chaos, Pepe, Ramos, Casillas basically being frozen out of his own club by his own players. That is not ancient history, that is a pattern. And Real Madrid of all clubs should know that pattern by now.
But here is the thing. Mourinho still wins. Roma, Porto, Inter, Chelsea twice, United, he gets results even when the football looks like it was designed by someone who genuinely hates football. If Carlo has gone and they need someone to steady the ship, you can see the logic. Even if the logic makes your eye twitch a little.
Now the more interesting bit of gossip is Newcastle and Chelsea both apparently eyeing Darwin Nunez. A striker who has Liverpool fans genuinely torn every single week. Brilliant one game, invisible the next, but the raw ability is undeniable. Newcastle would be an interesting fit because Eddie Howe might actually get consistent performances out of him. Chelsea though. Mate. They would buy him, play him twelve games, change formation, buy someone else and have him on the bench by February. We have seen this film before.
Joao Gomes to Atletico Madrid is the one that makes the most sense of the lot. Wolves need the money, Atletico need a proper defensive midfielder, and Gomes has been their best player for two seasons running. Good business for everyone except Wolves fans who have seen this happen about four times already.
Football in the summer is basically a soap opera and honestly the Mourinho comeback storyline might just be the best one yet.
Let me know your thoughts.