One Direction star Niall Horan has struck up a friendship with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

The singer recently spent time with the English football team as he continued his rehabilitation from a knee operation.

It seems the Derby County fan bonded with the players and staff, including boss Mourinho.

Speaking to the Guardian, Chelsea youngster Patrick Bamford - who has been on loan at Horan's beloved Derby - revealed that Mourinho regularly texts the One Direction man about football.

He said: "Niall from One Direction is a big Derby fan, he came down to the club and I was talking to him. Niall said: 'Mourinho knows all about you, he texts me all the time.' I said: 'No he doesn't.' And he showed me his phone, and because he was doing his treatment at Chelsea for his knee injury, he knew all the Chelsea boys and Mourinho.

"And he had text from Mourinho whenever I scored, saying 'Bamford again!'. That made me smile. That was the first time I knew that Mourinho knew about me."

Watch One Direction's 'You & I' below: