The 64-year-old enjoyed a successful stint as Chelsea’s caretaker manager in 2009 when he led the Blues to FA Cup joy after taking control following the departure of Brazilian World Cup-winning coach Luis Felipe Scolari.
Hiddink, a friend of billionaire Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, has occupied an advisory role with the club ever since parting ways after the FA Cup final, and is thought to be very keen to take the job on a permanent basis.
Chelsea will have to pay around 4 million euros (B177 million) to secure Hiddink’s release from his contract with the Turkish FA and his annual salary is expected to be in the region of 6 million pounds (B300 million) a season.
It is thought the lure of working with players on a day-to-day basis again, added to another chance of winning the Champions League, are the main factors in his decision to take the reigns at the Stamford Bridge club.
Chelsea are likely to undergo a dramatic overhaul this summer after 2010/11 saw the club finish without a trophy for the first time since 2004, the year Abramovich bought the club.
The likes of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Jose Bosingwa and Paulo Ferreira, among others, will be allowed to leave the club if the right offers are made, while the club has been linked with rising Brazilian star Neymar of Santos, Udinese’s Alexis Sanchez and Kaka from Real Madrid.
One of Hiddink’s first tasks will be to bring the best out of record signing Fernando Torres. The former Liverpool striker moved to Stamford Bridge in January for a British record £50 million pounds (B2.5 billion) but only scored once in 18 appearances, finishing the season relegated to the substitutes’ bench.
Hiddink will also be charged with bringing a first ever Champions League trophy to West London. Of all the trophies available, it is the one glaring omission from the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet since the club’s Russian revolution seven years ago, and is the one trophy that Abramovich is said to crave more than any other.
Meanwhile, former Chelsea manager, Italian Carlo Ancelotti, is taking a year off after being fired by the club.