José Mourinho is intent on signing Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic, with Manchester United hopeful of completing a £40m transfer this week.

The midfielder is understood to have accepted personal terms and the clubs have agreed a price. The 28-year-old, who will earn around £155,000 a-week, is expected to have a medical soon, though the death of Mourinho’s father, Felix, on Sunday may slow the transfer. The manager is in Portugal for the funeral but Matic is expected to sign before the United squad travel to the US for a pre-season tour on 9 July.

Mourinho signed the Serb for £21m in January 2014 when previously in charge at Chelsea and the player became part of his title-winning side. Matic’s impressive return to the club he originally joined in August 2009 from the Slovakian side Kosice won him a place in the 2015 PFA team of the year.

Matic is seen as the replacement for Michael Carrick and as an upgrade to Marouane Fellaini. Carrick signed a new one-year contract last month but he will be 36 on 28 July.

Matic would not be a like-for-like successor to Carrick, who possesses a greater range of passing. Yet his strong defensive abilities and experience of English football have convinced Mourinho he can help United’s to be title contenders and make an accomplished return to the Champions League after two years out of the competition.

Mourinho wants to sign four players. Matic’s arrival would take the manager’s tally to two, following the arrival of Victor Lindelof, the Swedish central defender, from Benfica for £30m.

Mourinho is still targeting Real Madrid’s Álvaro Morato but Real’s wish to sign the goalkeeper David De Gea may mean the pursuit of the centre-forward drags on until September. United have no intention of allowing De Gea to be sold to Real.

Matic’s imminent departure from Chelsea means Antonio Conte should be able to retain Cesc Fàbregas and the manager is also keen on adding Monaco’s Tiemoué Bakayoko to his midfield.

Conte also wants Alex Sandro of Juventus, who as a left-sided defender would fit into Chelsea’s wing-back system. It is thought they value the 26-year-old at around £55m, which if accepted by Juve would be a record signing at Stamford Bridge.

Sandro, a Brazil international with seven caps, has won two Serie A titles and two Copa Italia in his two years in Turin. He was at Porto for four seasons, winning two Portuguese championships.

Conte views Sandro has an improvement on Marcos Alonso, who was selected regularly at left wing-back during Chelsea’s Premier League-winning campaign.

Conte is also focused on buying Romelu Lukaku from Everton. It is believed the Belgium striker prefers a move to the champions over Old Trafford, despite Mourinho’s admiration for the 24-year-old No9 who was the second highest scorer in the Premier League last season.