Jose Mourinho Reportedly Requests Manchester United Promise over Manager's Job

Jose Mourinho reportedly wants a "written promise" from Manchester United that he will take over as the club's manager in the summer. 

According to Neil Custis in the Sun, the Portuguese manager already has "verbal assurance," but he is eager for a more formal guarantee after current Red Devils boss Louis van Gaal received the backing of Sir Alex Ferguson last week.

It was also recently reported that Dutchman Van Gaal has been "given assurances" that he will be in charge of United next season, and he will be handed £80 million to spend in the summer transfer window, per Dutch outlet De Telegraaf (via the Manchester Evening News' Rob Dawson).

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Van Gaal's contract at Old Trafford runs until the end of next season, but the fact that his side are currently struggling for a top-four spot in the Premier League, and have already failed this term in European competition, has put him under huge pressure.

Mourinho has long been seen as the likely successor to Van Gaal at the end of the season and was even previously reported to have a pre-contract agreement with the Manchester club, per Spanish outlet El Pais (via the Observer's Ed Aarons).

The former Chelsea boss has been out of work since he was sacked by the Blues back in December, but he remains one of the world's most revered managers and would likely engineer an improvement on United's current form.

As noted by Custis, there is a "split at board level" at United over the appointment of Mourinho, with some of the Old Trafford hierarchy concerned that he will not be the right fit.

One of the key arguments against appointing Mourinho has been his history of not readily promoting youth, a policy which has long been treasured at United and admirably continued by Van Gaal with the selection of Marcus Rashford, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Jesse Lingard this season, per the Times' Oliver Kay.

However, the Dutchman has done little else right during his tenure, implementing an unattractive style of play and struggling to guarantee a top-four place, the very least that was expected of him, per M.E.N's Samuel Luckhurst:

United are currently a shadow of the side that dominated English football and were perennial contenders in Europe for two decades up to Ferguson's retirement in 2013.

For many, the attraction of Mourinho is that, even if he does not fit in with United traditions, he does at least have the skills to return United to domestic and European competitiveness.

Furthermore, he will likely be able to attract higher-profile signings to Old Trafford than Van Gaal, and he could also reportedly prevent goalkeeper David De Gea—United's best player—from leaving the club, per Bleacher Report's Dean Jones:

Mourinho certainly remains the front-runner to take over from Van Gaal in the summer, but if he has indeed asked for a written guarantee, he must be getting a little edgy.