That sound you heard from Milan was Jose Mourinho's come and get me plea. That the Special One is done with Italian football after this season seems about as certain as the sun rising in the morning, but where he goes could be very interesting.

Mourinho has stated that he wants to manage in Spain because no manager has ever won English, Italian and Spanish league titles and in England again because of his love for English football. Once those two have been accomplished then he'll end his career managing the Portuguese national side.

Jose Mourinho ©Getty Images

Speculation invariably revolves around City, Liverpool, United and to a lesser extent the return to Chelsea. Taking the latter first the question is quite simple. Does Roman Abramovich have the ability to admit publicly that he made a mistake in ousting Mourinho? If he can, and I doubt it, then Mourinho will be back at Chelsea.

It is said, although there's never an attribution you'll notice, that the job Mourinho truly wants is at United. I don't think anyone knows when Old Purple Nose is going to step down but I doubt it is in the next year or so. The problem for Mourinho is that if he ends up at Liverpool or City then that probably poisons the well forever in taking the United job; which is all the more reason for City fans to want the Inter manager to end up at City or Liverpool. Mourinho at United is a nightmare thought.

Liverpool in some ways makes a huge amount of sense. It's a team with a couple of world class players and the need for an infusion of quality players. Mourinho likes to dabble in the transfer market and building Liverpool back would seem to fit his personality. The problem is money. Unless there is a buyout of the current Liverpool ownership or a significant financial investment then it's hard to project Mourinho taking the job.

Which leaves City. All the money he could want and interestingly a squad that lends itself naturally to the 4-3-3 of the early days at Chelsea. Would the board be ruthless enough to get rid of Mancini to make way for Mourinho?

That being said let me throw into the mix a crazy scenario. West Ham. Yes, West Ham. There have been reports the past couple of days of the new owners of the Hammers looking for significant middle eastern investment to buy the 50% of the club that they do not own. Imagine if you will a set of circumstances where a large amount of money is made available to a manager to build up West Ham.

This would allow Mourinho to be based in London, which according to reports I've seen is where he is comfortable. It would also allow him to spend three to four seasons building up a powerhouse before potentially departing for United when Ferguson finally retires. Crazy? Yes of course, but there are circumstances there that make it interesting.

In Spain Mourinho has really only two choices. Real Madrid or Barcelona. There's certainly a case for Madrid getting rid of Manuel Pellegrini and the thought of Mourinho going up against Barcelona and Pep Guardiola is one that intrigues.

My money says Mourinho doesn't come to City. Real Madrid would seem to make much more sense in the short term or something unusual as the Special One waits for United. And fairly obviously I'd love to proven wrong on this one.