JOSE MOURINHO ‘A MATTER OF HOURS’ FROM MANCHESTER UNITED JOB: REPORT

Jose Mourinho is just hours away from being appointed Manchester United manager, according to sources in Italy.

The former Chelsea manager has been in Mexico taking charge of a team of FIFA legends against a Mexico All Star XI, in a favor to new FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

But the epic saga of Mourinho and the United job, currently held by Louis Van Gaal, could soon be at an end.

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While noting there is, as yet, no formal agreement between the Old Trafford club and the 53-year-old, Sky Italia claims a deal could be sealed in a “matter of hours.”

Late on Thursday evening, Alessandro Alciato, the respected Italian football journalist, tweeted “Mourinho-United” to signify a break in the impasse that has lasted since December 2015.

Van Gaal has only a slim chance of leading United into the UEFA Champions League for next season, with the club two points behind Manchester City heading into the final day of the season.

United needs to beat Bournemouth at Old Trafford and hope City loses away at Swansea, or it will miss out on Europe’s elite club competition for the second time in three years.

Ed Woodward, the United executive vice chairman, faces a tricky conference call on Friday lunchtime as he attempts to explain to United’s investors about why the club has fallen from its perch atop Europe’s elite in the era post Sir Alex Ferguson.

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