SPORTS: Wait until Van Gaal’s contract expires, Man Utd tells Mourinho

Jose Mourinho was asked by Manchester United bosses to wait a year for the Old Trafford hotseat.

But the Special One wants to be back in football this summer — six months after the sack at Chelsea.

And the Portuguese now believes he is closer than at any stage to being confirmed as the next United boss — probably by the end of the month after Louis van Gaal has led his side into the FA Cup Final with Crystal Palace.

United chief Ed Woodward hoped Mourinho might accept the proposal and opt for a lucrative 12-month spell in the Chinese Super League ahead of a move to Manchester.

The approach to Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes came straight from the Old Trafford high command led by Woodward in the past fortnight.

The plan suggested Woodward is still reluctant to sanction cutting short Van Gaal’s three-year contract 12 months early because it would be further evidence of his error in appointing the Dutchman in the first place.

Mourinho has not hidden his desire to get back in the managerial saddle this summer after his bruising final months at Stamford Bridge.

The former Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid chief feels the challenge of restoring United to their previous position at the top of the tree is the ideal one for him to take on at this stage of his career.