Manchester United are prepared to pay what is needed to prise manager Mauricio Pochettino away from Tottenham.

The London Evening Standard says privately, the feeling within Old Trafford is that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's rising credentials to get the job are a good problem to have.

But if the Norwegian is appointed, it will be due United's resurgence on the pitch, rather than the fact he represents a much cheaper option than Pochettino.

United will not be put off by the prospect of paying Spurs a compensation fee, which it is believed will exceed the £34m value of the remaining four years of Pochettino's contract.

As far as United's accounts are concerned the package would be spread across the length of any proposed deal at Old Trafford, making it a considerably less daunting figure.