London: Jose Mourinho has an agreement in principle to become the next manager of Manchester United, but nothing has yet been signed between the club and the Portuguese, The Daily Telegraph understands. The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager is confident he will be given the opportunity to succeed Louis van Gaal, whose prospects of staying at Old Trafford are slim, regardless of what happens in the final weeks of the season.

However, Mourinho has still to enter into a formal contract with United and has rebuffed other offers as he continues to wait for a final 
decision from the club, whose key power brokers have been keeping tight-lipped about the managerial situation as uncertainty persists. Nonetheless, Mourinho is working on the basis that he will get the job he has long craved and has been busy formulating his own plans for the squad and what will be a crucial summer transfer window for United after another disappointing season and a series of underwhelming purchases.

Having seen the initial drop-off in performance at Manchester City when it was made public in February that Pep Guardiola would be replacing Manuel Pellegrini as manager this summer, it seems likely that United’s hierarchy have been keen to avoid the risk of similar distraction among the squad with much still to play for.

As well as being locked in a battle for Champions League qualification, United face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 21 and it may not be until after then that the club formally reveal their hand. United have been keen to give Van Gaal every opportunity to transform their ailing season and, having sacked David Moyes after just 10 months, were eager to avoid dispensing with the Dutchman midway through his second season and any damage that might cause to the club’s reputation for being patient and supportive. But the lack of marked progress on the pitch and dull brand of football has caused alarm.

Ryan Giggs, Van Gaal’s No.2, has not entirely given up hope of becoming the club’s next manager but there are concerns the demands of the role would be too much, too soon for him and Giggs’s decision may ultimately centre around whether he is prepared to serve an apprenticeship to a third manager after Moyes and Van Gaal.

In the meantime, United are continuing to work on some prospective transfer deals, despite the managerial uncertainty. Renato Sanches, the Benfica midfielder, and Everton centre-half, John Stones, are two longer-standing targets, interest in whom predates the club’s interest in Mourinho. But they are signings Mourinho would approve given that he tried to entice both during his second spell at Chelsea, which culminated in him being sacked in December after a calamitous title defence.

United are at an advanced stage in their pursuit of Sanches and are thought to have held talks in London in the past 48 hours with the Benfica president, Luis Filipe Vieira, about a deal for the 18-year-old who is also represented by Jorge Mendes, Mourinho’s agent. An agreement is expected to be reached but the clubs are still haggling over the price, with Benfica requesting a fee closer to the projected pounds 61.6?million that United paid Monaco for Anthony Martial last year and the Manchester club hoping to secure a deal for less.

Stones was the subject of three unsuccessful bids, the highest of which was pounds 37 million, from Chelsea last summer when Mourinho was manager and the 53-year-old would be eager to take the England defender to United, who face competition from the London club as well as City and Barcelona. City are also interested in ano-ther young centre-half, Aymeric Laporte, of Athletic Bilbao, who, despite suffering a broken leg and dislocated ankle last month, the club continue to pursue.

- The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2016