Chelsea have declined to comment on reports Jose Mourinho has already signed a contract to return as manager.
Mourinho is widely expected to begin a second spell at Stamford Bridge this summer once his three-year stay at Real Madrid is officially over.
And Thursday's Sun newspaper claimed the Portuguese signed a four-year deal during a trip to London earlier this week.
The paper quoted a senior Chelsea source, but no-one at the club would confirm the news on the record when asked. Mourinho has one game left as Real manager, which comes at home to Osasuna on Saturday.
And Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague told Sky Sports News everyone at the Bernabeu knows where Mourinho is going next.
He said: "Jose Mourinho has been in touch with Chelsea for at least two weeks, probably much more than that, finalizing a deal he wanted. When he said there was one club that loved him more than the others he was obviously referring to Chelsea and probably adding a bit of pressure to Roman Abramovich for everything to be finalized.
"He did tell everybody at the club - or the ones he still speaks to - that his wish was to go back to London."
