Harry Redknapp feels Chelsea could become "world class" again, if Jose Mourinho returned to take charge of the Blues.

The Portuguese tactician, who was the Chelsea manager from 2004 to 2007, led the west London outfit to back-to-back Premier League titles in his first two seasons at the helm. The 50-year-old looks certain to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season, after several reported fall-outs with a host of influential figures at the Bernabeu during his three-year tenure.

Jose Mourinho
Reuters

With the Blues' interim manager Rafa Benitez set to step down at the end of the season, Mourinho has been linked with a summer move back to Stamford Bridge. Redknapp believes the return of The Special One could prove to be the start of another remarkable era for Chelsea.

"Should he leave Real Madrid there are only one or two clubs over here which could possibly accommodate him. Of course, one of those is Chelsea," the QPR manager wrote in his column in The Sun.

"If Rafa Benitez leaves in the summer, then Mourinho is red-hot favourite to go back to the club where the fans still sing his name, back to an owner with lots of money and back to a squad which only needs a bit of tinkering with to become world class again," Redknapp pointed out.

Mourinho was in charge of Inter Milan for two seasons, prior to his spell with Madrid. During his two years at the Giuseppe Meazza, he led Inter to two consecutive Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and also achieved Champions League glory in 2010. However, after his departure, the Italians have been struggling to finish in the top four.

"Look where he has been and what the clubs are like once he leaves. Inter are now a shadow of what it was when he was there. Chelsea have never been the consistent force they were in his day. Man-management is the key. He knows how to get the best out of his players," Redknapp added.

Mourinho holds the record of going 150 successive home league matches unbeaten, between February 2002 and April 2011, through his four clubs: 38 (won 36, drew two) with Porto, 60 (won 46, drew 14) with Chelsea, 38 (won 29, drew nine) with Inter and 14 (won 14) with Madrid. The run came to end when Sporting de Gijon defeated the Spanish champions 1-0 in a La Liga game on 2 April, 2011.