The bid to appoint a new England coach appears to move a step closer, despite sources in Portugal denying Jose Mourinho has flown in for talks.It had been suggested the former Chelsea boss had arrived in England for an interview which, given his impressive CV and popularity among the England support, would merely be a rubber-stamping exercise providing he declared an unequivocal intention to take the job.
However, it has also been stated that Mourinho is still in Portugal - and has no immediate plans to leave - and for their part, the FA have insisted no interview with any candidate has been arranged.
The mystery over Mourinho's whereabouts does add an element of farce to proceedings but no matter what the precise location of the 44-year-old, with FA chief executive Brian Barwick and director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking concluding their consultative process, they will shortly be in a position to make a move for the "world-class" candidate they are committed to.
In his own private conversation with the FA, Sir Alex Ferguson is sure to have repeated his public stance that if a younger man - and Mourinho fits into that category - proved to be a success as an international manager, he would immediately crave a club job, as witnessed by Alex McLeish and his surprise move from Scotland to Birmingham.
Fabio Capello, who made his interest known almost as soon as McClaren was sacked, is without question a live contender, with FA officials making it clear that his inability to speak English would not prevent him getting the job.
The same criteria would also apply to fellow Italian and World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi who has one major positive going for him in that he has an outstanding relationship with Ferguson, from whom he will require a large degree of co-operation.
Jurgen Klinsmann has been backed by Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer, although having not had a job since guiding his country to the semi-finals of the last World Cup, the former Tottenham player is regarded as an outside bet.
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