By IANS
London : Former coach of Israel’s national football team Avram Grant is set to be named the new manager of Chelsea replacing Jose Mourinho, who left the English Premier League club “by mutual consent”.
The Israeli, who is Chelsea’s director of football, will now take charge with Steve Clarke as his assistant.
Grant is expected to be confirmed as the new manager at Stamford Bridge later Thursday, BC Sport revealed.
The 51-year-old is a close friend of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and his summer arrival at the club came despite stiff opposition from Mourinho.
Once appointed, Mourinho told Grant not to interfere with team affairs but the Israeli held a strong position with a post on the Chelsea board.
Grant previously held the position of technical director at Portsmouth before moving to Chelsea.
He had guided Israel to the brink of World Cup qualification in 2006, having also coached Israeli clubs Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Maccabi Haifa.