José Mourinho has set himself on a collision course with Chelsea after the Inter Milan coach yesterday named Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Deco as his top transfer targets.

Mourinho is determined to raid his former club to secure the services of Lampard and Drogba, as well as thwarting Chelsea's attempt to sign Deco, the Barcelona midfield player who played a key role when he won the Champions League with FC Porto, under the Portuguese, four years ago.

Having worked at Chelsea less than nine months ago, Mourinho is hoping to use his knowledge of the players' contractual situations to his advantage. Lampard's contract talks have stalled after a disagreement over the length of his new deal, as The Times revealed yesterday, and Drogba is unhappy with his £95,000-a-week wages and seeking parity with John Terry on £135,000. Deco, the Portugal international, has expressed a preference to follow Luiz Felipe Scolari to Stamford Bridge, but Barcelona will sell to the highest bidder.

“I am not nostalgic but I really like those three players, they helped me win some great titles,” Mourinho said. “I cannot forget Deco, Lampard and Drogba. These are players who I could never say no to. I would love to work with them again in the future, but I am not too obsessed with this idea. I don't know which of these three will leave their clubs, but we will see.”

Steve Clarke's position at Chelsea is looking increasingly bleak after Steve Kean, the Coventry City assistant manager, said yesterday that he has been asked to join the club as an assistant coach by Scolari. Kean speaks fluent Portuguese, having spent six years as a player with Académica de Coimbra before beginning his coaching career as No2 to Chris Coleman at Fulham.

Kean says he will take the surprising step of rejecting Chelsea's advances to stay at Coventry, but the revelation that the club are looking for a British coach is bad news for Clarke, his fellow Scot. The former Chelsea defender has spent the past four years as an assistant first-team coach, after being promoted from youth team manager, but Scolari appears determined to recruit a new backroom team. “There was contact made from someone acting on behalf of Mr Scolari, but I don't think so,” Kean said. “The chairman [Ray Ranson] has stated that I've got a contract and I'm happy with the project we've got at Coventry.”