Jose Mourinho to replace retiring Ferguson at Man United

Mourinho has just taken over at Real Madrid; however, he is Manchester United’s first choice to take over when Sir Alex Ferguson retires. Now you can bet on when this will happen at William Hill.

William Hill has placed Jose Mourinho at 3/1 favourite to take over from Alex Ferguson as the next manager at Manchester United. They announced these odds as reports suggested that the ex Chelsea boss would still be interested in taking over at Old Trafford. However, the twist is that William Hill thinks that this change may be coming sooner than expected - they have made 2011 their 11/10 favourite year in which Sir Alex Ferguson resigns.

Recently the Manchester Evening News reported that they also think Jose Mourinho will be Ferguson’s replacement. However, they said that Ferguson, now 68 years old, is expected to keep his record breaking reign at Old Trafford for at least two more years before leaving.

Mourinho, known as ‘The Special One’ was introduced to the press at the home of Real Madrid the Santiago Bernabeu, last Monday afternoon. However, this has not deterred Manchester United from making him their first choice.

Mourinho’s recent move has actually played to Manchester United’s advantage; they now have a bit of breathing space whilst they wait for Ferguson to decide when he leaves. There were reports that the club board were worried that Mourinho might be taken by another club such as Liverpool or Manchester City in the interim.

In the mean time Mourinho has made a determined start to his time with Real Madrid, vowing that they will win the Champions League with him. There are reports, however, that he has included an ‘escape clause’ in his contract which will allow him to depart for Old Trafford and take up with Manchester United as soon as Sir Alex Ferguson chooses to leave.

William Hill’s spokesman Graham Sharpe said that, “'Mourinho and Manchester United could be a marriage made in Heaven, or a recipe for disaster - it will be fun finding out which if it does happen”.