Jose Mourinho linked with sensational return to former club - could see Sir Bobby Robson's protege back at St James' Park

· 17 September 2025, 10:00

The UEFA Champions League got underway last night, and while Newcastle United fans have to wait until tomorrow night to see their beloved side in action, there was plenty of drama in the opening fixtures.

Former Newcastle defender Lloyd Kelly, who joined Juventus just six months after signing for the Magpies, didn't get off to the best of starts in Ital,y with many fans and even journalists hoping they could return to sender.

Now, though, Kelly is a Juventus hero after opening the scoring for The Old Lady in their 4-2 win over Inter at the weekend. Kelly bagged a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time last night as Juve scored twice in injury time to draw 4-4 with Borussia Dortmund.

Elsewhere,the Azerbaijan side Qarabag pulled off the shock of the evening by beating Benfica 3-2. coming back from 2-1 down.

Benfica sacked Bruno Lage after last night's Champions League defeat

That result didn't go down well in Portugal, with the Benfica board moving to relieve former Wolves boss Bruno Lage of his duties immediately.

Benfica are due on Tyneside for a Champions League clash on 21st October and should have a new manager in place by then.

As confirmed by Fabrizio Romano, the early favourite for the job is none other than Jose Mourinho, who cut his teeth managing at Benfica after learning from the late, great Sir Bobby Robson.

Jose Mourinho could be heading to the club that got him sacked in August

The irony here, of course, is that it was Fenerbahce's defeat to Benfica in the Champions League play-off that saw Mourinho sacked by the Turkish side.

Should 'The Special One' take over at Benfica, he will no doubt be excited to return to St James' Park next month, with the Portuguese forging an affinity with Newcastle thanks to his time with Sir Bobby.

Mourinho has often been linked with the Newcastle job due to this connection. We'd rather see him in the opposition dugout, though. He's not as 'special' as he once was.