Manchester United hope to announce the details of Sir Alex Ferguson's new contract after the weekend.
Ferguson said last summer that this season would be his last as United boss. But the 60-year-old Scot revealed this week he has had a change of heart and has been negotiating the details of a new contract which could see him remain at Old Trafford for the next two or three years.
The new deal will make Ferguson the best-paid manager in the Premiership. United confirmed in a statement to the Stock Exchange on Tuesday that the club's plc board had been approached by Ferguson, who had offered to stay on as manager, and that talks on a new contract were at an advanced stage.
Last summer his salary was increased to £2 million sterling for his final season, but this was eclipsed when Arsene Wenger agreed his new contract with Arsenal which is reportedly worth £2.5 million a year.
United will be hoping that by the time Ferguson's new deal runs out they will be in a better position to lure top targets such as England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson to Old Trafford.
United chief executive Peter Kenyon had admitted defeat in trying to convince Ferguson to postpone his retirement and turned his attentions to the biggest man-hunt in football.
However this soon became mission impossible as all the leading candidates - Eriksson, Marcello Lippi, Ottmar Hitzfeld and Martin O'Neill - ruled themselves out.