According to reports, Jose Mourinho remains confident that he will be appointed Manchester United boss in the summer.
ESPN FC sources claim that the Portuguese tactician believes that he will replace Louis van Gaal ahead of next season, and is continuing to make transfer plans.
It comes after contrasting suggestions that Van Gaal still stay on and see out his contract next year, having played a role in planning United’s pre-season tour of China this summer.
As a result, the conflicting reports continue to cause confusion over the situation, although it is claimed by ESPN FC that Mourinho’s representatives have held extensive discussions with the club.
Furthermore, United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is known to have a close relationship with Jorge Mendes, Mourinho’s agent, and it is felt that the pieces are all in place for a deal to be agreed.
In turn, the belief among those close to Mourinho is that he will be named United boss in the summer, and he will go about attempting to bolster the squad in order to ensure that they compete with their title rivals next season.
According to ESPN FC, Harry Kane, John Stones, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Renato Sanches are all on the club’s transfer radar, but they will firstly hope that Van Gaal can guide them to a Champions League qualification spot this season in order to make those targets a possibility.
Following their loss to Tottenham on Sunday, United are now four points adrift of rivals Manchester City in fourth place with six games remaining, and so the pressure is certainly on them to produce a strong finish to the campaign.
Should Van Gaal fail to make the top four, then it is widely assumed that it will be enough to force the club to take action as the Dutchman would have undoubtedly fallen short of expectations.