Manchester United can't afford to miss out on Jose Mourinho... rivals are on the up but they will remain static under Louis van Gaal

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Chelsea will be stronger. Manchester City will represent an entirely different proposition. Tottenham will look to kick on further. Something has to give at Arsenal.

Leicester are champions. Jurgen Klopp's first full season at Liverpool could be dangerous. West Ham and Southampton will strengthen again this summer.

What for Manchester United? They find themselves at a crossroads as their Premier League campaign finishes on Tuesday night.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is under pressure following an underwhelming season

The Dutchman is preparing for Tuesday's clash with Bournemouth but could depart the club this summer

The next week is Ed Woodward's biggest in charge and he cannot afford to make the wrong management decision this time.

In essence, United cannot allow Jose Mourinho to slip through their fingers. This is the job he craves and ignoring that would be very foolish.

Paris Saint-Germain might be able to offer an extremely handsome package, and Sportsmail reported overnight that Mourinho is tempted by the lure of the transfer budget, but Ligue 1 has never previously been a part of his grand plan.

'I'll take my ideas to where they are wanted. I need to feel comfortable and I like to be where I am truly wanted,' Mourinho said this week.

'I want to work in a club with responsibilities, I want to work in a club with a difficult league, where there are no easy targets. Within these possibilities, there are not many options for me. Calmly, we will decide.'

Never mind calm, United must be flapping underwater at the moment. The overwhelming feeling is that Louis van Gaal must go - and the belief in the Old Trafford offices remains that he will (the word 'Mourinho' is constantly mentioned) - but Woodward has held on for so long already.

Jose Mourinho, pictured in Mexico last week, has been out of work since leaving Chelsea last December 

Mourinho could take over from Laurent Blanc at French champions Paris Saint-Germain in the summer

There is something laudable about Woodward's willingness to give Van Gaal time. The two have become friends and the executive vice-chairman believes in his man. And why wouldn't he? It was Woodward who brought the Dutchman in two years ago, saw him deliver a Champions League return straight away and then, through rose tints, only slip out amid the craziest of Premier League seasons.

The overriding feeling, however, is that he does not want another failure on his hands. Ultimately any potential protectionism will be to Woodward and United's detriment.

Another year of Van Gaal could see the club slip further and further from the aforementioned cluster of clubs - the number of which swells with each passing season. Certainly there has to be a worry that City under Pep Guardiola will screech ahead.

The times of divine right to a top-four spot are long gone and Van Gaal might end up winning the FA Cup. Some supporters and board members may believe that is sufficient. But many fans do not and are ready to vote with their feet on Tuesday night by not cashing in on free tickets for the rearranged game with Bournemouth.

The ex-Chelsea boss has been continuously linked with Manchester United but it appears they may miss out

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward (left) cannot afford to make the wrong management decision this time

Old Trafford is set for thousands of empty seats again. It should serve as some sort of message. They are not happy with the sort of displays offered. United have scored just 24 home Premier League goals - the worst record of the top eight.

Yes, they have secured results. No, they have not entertained. That is the difference Van Gaal does not want to understand.

The argument against Mourinho's appointment boils down to a perceived lack of engaging football too, yet his 2015 title winners at Chelsea were only out-scored by Manchester City. The year before that only City and Liverpool found the net more.

His detractors say he will not blood any youngsters, but the chief reason for so many coming through under Van Gaal centres on injuries and a lack of strikers. It is more luck than judgement.

Marcus Rashford, now with an England call-up added to his startling rise, could still have been kicking around in the Under 18s had it not been for the sale of Javier Hernandez and then Memphis Depay's difficult first season in England. Van Gaal was keen to try the latter through the middle.

The Portuguese coach has been touted to take over from Van Gaal (right) if the Dutchman is sacked

Mourinho - pictured in the Old Trafford dugout while Inter Milan manager - is ready for a return to the game

One man who is willing to set up camp there is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. His agent, Mino Raiola, claims reports of an offer from United are 'not factual' but there is no denying that the Swede would say 'thanks, but no thanks' to working under Van Gaal, labelling him a 'dictator' in his autobiography. Mourinho? Now that's an altogether different proposition.

Ibrahimovic goes against values United believe in - chiefly his age, 34 - but would offer a short-term fix. Someone to hit, someone to bounce off. The club is desperate for that, some swagger, something to force others into a state of uneasiness.

They will miss out on this without Mourinho. They will not have Ibrahimovic blasting balls in from all angles, playing up to the Stretford End, orchestrating big nights.

There may come some problems at the other end of the field, too. David de Gea - again United's Player of the Season, for a third-straight year - will weigh up his options should Van Gaal be retained as manager. Real Madrid are still keeping tabs on the Spain international after last summer's fiasco which ended in both sides blaming each other.

Woodward brought Van Gaal to the club two years ago and has stuck by the boss despite poor performances

Wayne Rooney and Co have scored just 24 home Premier League goals - the worst record of the top eight

Players do not see what direction they are headed under the 64-year-old. There is respect for his achievements but a belief in the squad that his methods are outdated. Some of the younger contingent call him 'grandpa'.

It is an atmosphere not conducive to winning the title or challenging in Europe. That, when all is said in done, is all United are really after at the moment. They need to quickly narrow the ever-widening gap between them and the rest.

Mourinho, therefore, is a no-brainer - a win-win. He won't expect to stick around longer than three years, largely because football has changed irreversibly since Sir Alex Ferguson was handed that lifeline all those years ago. That idealism is no longer with us.

But that should not bother the board at Manchester United. They should take Mourinho for what he is: a manager who will win the Premier League title, who will run you close in Europe, and then ultimately depart.

It is not often one of the best managers ever to have graced the game is available and wants your job. To ignore him with a lame duck keeping his seat could end up becoming a ghastly decision. 

Marcus Rashford was given first-team break due to Javier Hernandez's sale and Memphis Depay's poor form

Van Gaal is preparing for the FA Cup final at Wembley where his side will face Crystal Palace