Light at the end of tunnel? Manchester United owners to choose preferred buyer for the club this week

Both bidders in the battle for Manchester United are finalising deal details with the club's sellers – with a long-awaited decision on exclusivity finally expected later this week.

Lawyers representing Qatari Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani and British petrochemicals billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe are in dialogue with Raine Group, the US merchant bank managing the process.

Ratcliffe's INEOS group had appeared to have nosed in front, but according to the UK’s Dailymail, those acting on behalf of Sheikh Jassim – who at one stage had thought they had lost – now feel that they are very much in the game following the dramatic submission of an improved offer last week.

Each side is hoping to learn over the coming days which has been chosen by the Glazer family as the preferred bidder, ahead of the completion of a sale of the Premier League giants.

Ratcliffe's people had been in advanced talks with Raine for a number of weeks but insiders have disclosed there was something of a breakthrough with their rivals who had set a Friday deadline for a withdrawal of engagement in the process along with their fifth and final bid should they not receive a response.

That deadline has passed but the offer, which was made directly to the Glazers and to Raine, remains on the table.

Sheikh Jassim's bid – which is believed to be around the £5billion mark and comes with the promise of an additional £1bn investment – is for total control of United.

The offer from Ratcliffe's INEOS is for around 60 per cent and comes with a proposal that would allow members of the Glazer family, unpopular with large sections of United's support, to remain for a set time period ahead of a sourced buyout.

While the initial outlay would be significantly less, the INEOS bid is thought to value the club slightly higher.

That gap, however, is thought to have narrowed, and the Qataris feel that the decision now rests purely on whether the Glazers, who have plunged United into debt since their leveraged buyout in 2005, want to sell up or stay in some capacity.

A month ago, the Glazers contacted Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president of Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain, to enlist his help in asking Sheikh Jassim to raise his bid.

There has been frustration amid some of those involved that the sale process, which began in November, is yet to conclude with the transfer window set to open on Wednesday.

That frustration is thought to be shared inside Old Trafford, with staff and officials keen for a resolution.