Manchester United are expected to announce today that they have given Carlos Queiroz permission to leave the club in order to become the new national coach of Portugal.

According to reports, the Premiership champions reluctantly agreed to release Queiroz from his Old Trafford contract last night. It's thought that Queiroz reached an agreement with Portugal to succeed Luiz Felipe Scolari as Portugal's coach last week.

It's thought that United will receive around £1m in compensation - although Sir Alex Ferguson may well regard that sum as paltry compared to the inconvenience of identifying and recruiting a new assistant as well as the loss of a trusted number two who Ferguson depicted as key ally in his attempt to persuade Cristiano Ronaldo to stay at the club.