Jose Mourinho and his agent have given the strongest hint yet that the Porto coach will be taking charge of Chelsea.

"Chelsea are a great club, so of course it interests me, but nothing has been signed or agreed yet. That would be unfair to Porto," Mourinho told British newspapers on Friday.

"I am still committed to Porto because anything less would mean we would not be ready for the Champions League (final against Monaco on May 26). We have to be professional.

"But I am an ambitious man and I have taken Porto a long way and now I'm ready for a new challenge. Managing in the premier league has always appealed to me."

Jorge Mendes, Mourinho's agent, said it was likely his client would be leaving Portugal for London.

"Jose is probably going to Chelsea. We cannot say any more," Mendes told the Daily Express newspaper on Friday.

Chelsea coach Claudio Ranieri said on Tuesday he expected to leave the Stamford Bridge club at the end of the season.

Ranieri's team were held to a 2-2 home draw by Monaco in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday, a result which earned the French club a 5-3 aggregate win and a final clash with Porto in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.