West Ham were “two hours” away from appointing Rafael Benitez as boss

Real Sociedad could well be playing Real Madrid at the ideal moment, according to midfielder Sergio Canales.

Two clubs are particular frontrunners to secure Mourinho’s services – and they don’t get much bigger than Manchester United and Real Madrid. West Ham sit 10th in the Premier League.

However, the sacked Chelsea manager is closely monitoring the situation at Old Trafford and willing to replace Van Gaal, should the latter be sacked. His side play Southampton at home today in an effort to jump up the table despite the injuries his side have suffered.

Eventually, West Ham appointed their former defender Slaven Bilic as their new manager, with the Croatian returning to Upton Park for their final season there, before the move to the Olympic Stadium next summer.

It was revealed last month Real Madrid president Florentino Perez wants Mourinho to return to the Bernabeu. The list includes Wenger, as well as Zinedine Zidane, Manuel Pellegrini, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, and Carlo Ancelotti, who is obviously out as he’ll be managing Bayern Munich next year.

Their co-owner David Sullivan confirmed as much in an interview with Sky Sports, in which he claimed his club were “two hours” from appointing our former boss Benitez – who for some reason – decided on Real Madrid instead!

Amid the maelstrom, a few coaches at elite clubs are now looking relatively safe, with Luis Enrique at Barcelona, Laurent Blanc at Paris St Germain and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal enjoying a rare bout of job security. “He’s already sensational and he could be as good as any player in the world”.