The reasoning at United is also partly that they do not want to feel bounced into making a decision because of outside pressures which have included Jose Mourinho and his agent, Jorge Mendes, once again strongly making it clear that the former Chelsea manager would be very interested in taking over at Old Trafford should a change be made.

United do not want to just consider Mourinho, however, and although there is a strong sense that Pep Guardiola is eventually bound for Manchester City the club would like to examine other options such as the Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone who is wanted by Chelsea. However the latest word out of Madrid is that Simeone is more likely to stay where he is than leave and is already planning for the summer.

The more likely scenario for United should Van Gaal leave is that assistant Ryan Giggs will be put in charge until the end of the season although it is understood that if the former player takes over, for a second time, having done so when David Moyes was sacked, he would prefer it to be on a permanent basis.