Manchester United have reportedly met with Louis van Gaal within the past few days to discuss the Dutchman taking over at Old Trafford.

A delegation from United, including one of the Glazers, met with the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss to sound him out over the possibility of taking over from David Moyes for the start of next season, according to The Mirror.

The current Netherlands manager will be leaving his post as national team manager following this summer’s World Cup and until now had been strongly linked with a move to Tottenham to replace Tim Sherwood. Van Gaal has not signed any deal with Tottenham however and today's reports suggest interest from United could be behind his reluctance to commit.

Despite public assurances that Moyes would be given ample time to get things right, results this season have been unexpectedly poor in all competitions, even accounting for the inevitable effects of Sir Alex Ferguson's departure, and patience appears to be waning at the club. Failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League is now looking almost certain, as they lie 7th in the table with 5 games to go, and was compounded by Wednesday’s quarter final exit from Europe at the hands of Bayern Munich.

With several key players either confirmed or likely to leave Old Trafford in the summer a major squad overhaul seems imminent and the owners have reportedly earmarked £200 million.

United last night denied any meeting with van Gaal had taken place.