Guus Hiddink's return to Chelsea has seemed inevitable ever since he and Roman Abramovich sparked up king-size cigars in the Wembley dressing room after the Blues lifted the FA Cup a couple of years ago.The barrier to the manager's return as successor to Carlo Ancelotti, however, has apparently been his commitment to lead Turkey during the Euro 2012 campaign.
Hiddink, it was believed, would be unwilling to break that arrangement, meaning he would not be available until October at the earliest.
Not so, according to the Dutchman who appears to be getting bored with international football and hankers after a return to the day-to day-business of leading a club.
"I never told anybody that I was going to continue working with Turkey," said Hiddink, according to a report in the Guardian.
"I feel energetic and I like working every day. I feel I need to do more, so a club role is more preferable than coaching a national team. I haven't told the president of the Turkish FA. But he is an intelligent man and I'm sure he follows the world's media. There is no official offer yet, so I cannot guarantee anything."
"I feel I need to do more. I've trained Australia and PSV at the same time, as well as Russia and Chelsea, and I was very happy. We'll see what happens with Turkey."
Hiddink's words will be welcomed in south-west London and could trigger discussions once Turkey's qualifier with Belgium on June 3 is out of the way, eventually leading to the most unsurprising appointment of the summer.
On the face of it, club and manager appear to be the perfect fit. There is mutual respect between Abramovich and Hiddink and the Dutchman has already proved he is capable of forging the current squad into a winning team.
What could possibly go wrong? Not much, except that at the age of 64, Hiddink's tenure would have a distinct shelf life. Unless he is anxious to emulate Sir Alex Ferguson's longevity, it's hard to see the former Real Madrid manager staying for longer than two or three years.
Admittedly that would qualify as a dynasty by Chelsea's recent standards, but the experience of the last seven years points to the need for the club to look beyond the season by season quick-fix and allow a manager to set in place the building blocks for long-term dominance.
Hiddink would almost certainly bring in a young coach to work alongside him and be groomed as his successor with Marco Van Basten's name having frequently been mentioned. Nice idea, but how often has such a planned seamless transition come off at a top club?
The idea of a quick turnaround suits Abramovich who appears unwilling to let a manager assume responsibility for recruitment and team development. In that sense Hiddink is the ideal appointment.
But the evidence of the last five seasons at Chelsea – and more profoundly at Manchester United – is that lasting success and the game's biggest prizes tend to go those clubs with a long-term strategy, devised and overseen from pitchside, not the boardroom.
Hiddink will provide an immediate lift after the disappointment of last season, but unless he is prepared to commit himself to an extended stay at the club, Chelsea will again be facing a period of instability sooner rather than later.
