Manchester United have come to terms with Jose Mourinho over a lucrative three-year contract, as the Portuguese gets ever closer to taking over from Louis Van Gaal at the end of the season.
Mourinho to Manchester United has not letup since the former Real Madrid manager was sacked by Chelsea late last year.
With Van Gaal struggling to find consistency in results and performance from his Manchester United side, Mourinho keeps getting linked with a move to Old Trafford. Much will depend on where Manchester United finish at the end of the season, but it is difficult to imagine Van Gaal staying in the job, if the club fail to finish in the top four.
According to The Guardian, Manchester United have not approached Mourinho yet, but the Daily Mirror says Mourinho has agreed, in principle, a three-year deal worth £15 million a year. That puts Mourinho on par with what Pep Guardiola will earn when the Spaniard takes over from Manuel Pellegrini at Manchester City at the end of the season.
Mourinho vs Guardiola in the battle of Manchester is certainly a brilliant subplot for next season if the Portuguese is appointed by Ed Woodward, the Manchester United executive vice chairman, who is under pressure to deliver results.
However, according to The Sun, several players in the squad are unsure about Mourinho's fit at Manchester United. The 53-year-old's intense my-way-or-the-highyway management style might not be everyone's cup of tea, while playmakers, who like to concentrate more on the attacking part of the game, will also wonder if they will fit into Mourinho's system.
Juan Mata was sold to Manchester United by Mourinho when he was at Chelsea, because the Spain international did not quite fit into Mourinho's everyone-defends-most-of-the-time ethos.
The major complaint regarding Van Gaal has been the boring style of football that Manchester United have played more often than not under his management, and with Mourinho not exactly known for playing an expansive style of football either, it could be another round of let's-not-concede football.
However, what Mourinho does guarantee is results -- at least for the first couple of years -- and with Manchester United struggling to get positive ones consistently, and with Guardiola set to take over at Manchester City, bringing in the Portuguese to go toe-to-toe with the former Barcelona manager, might not be a bad idea.
