Chelsea appeals to Deco

Deco, 29, was the playmaker that drove Mourinho's Porto side to their 2003 UEFA Cup and 2004 Champions League triumphs, although he did not originally sign the Portuguese international.

"The idea of working with Jose again appeals to me," he told The Sun. "He was a huge influence on my career and he did so much for me.

"It would be good to work with him again."

After the 2004 European success over Monaco in Gelsenkirchen, where Deco scored in the final, Mourinho left for Chelsea while the silky-skilled player was transferred to Barcelona.

Deco was again instrumental as Barca won back-to-back Liga titles and the Champions League over Arsenal in 2006, meeting Chelsea in several memorable encounters along the way.

"The Premier League is definitely on a par with La Liga," Deco continued. "Playing there absolutely appeals to me.

"The English league is a possibility and it would definitely be somewhere I'd like to play.

"There's no doubt that you can compare Manchester United and Chelsea to Barcelona.

"They are both huge clubs and playing for clubs like that would always be an attractive proposition."

Media speculation has for some time linked Brazilian-born Deco, who helped Portugal to the final of Euro 2004 and the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup, with a move away from the Camp Nou.