Jose Mourinho prepared to sell midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin

Jose Mourinho is prepared to sanction the sale of midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin after confirming the player has told him he wishes to leave Manchester United.

The Frenchman has made only eight appearances in his second season at Old Trafford and Tony Pulis’ West Brom have lodged a club-record bid for him, which Press Association Sport understands to be in the region of £18million.

Everton, managed by Schneiderlin’s ex-Southampton boss Ronald Koeman, could also be tempted when the window reopens next month, and Mourinho admits he will not stand in his player’s way while he remains on the fringes of his squad.

Asked if the 27-year-old had told him he wished to move away, Mourinho replied: “Yeah. (He’s a) great professional, a fantastic boy, very honest, very open and (he) opens his heart a couple of times.

“My answer was – if the offer is right and our board thinks that the offer is a good offer in relation to the quality of a very good player like Morgan, I would not stop him to go.”

Schneiderlin has struggled to get a look-in in the middle of United’s midfield under Mourinho, with world-record signing Paul Pogba joining a group that included the evergreen Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini.

It has left both Schneiderlin and World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger out of the picture, yet even the latter has appeared more recently than the Frenchman’s last game on November 19, and he has not started a Premier League fixture this term.

There is expected to be top-flight interest in his signature, though, not least from West Brom who will be active once the window reopens.

“We have made bids for four or five players, we won’t talk about them today. We will talk about them if we get them,” said Baggies boss Pulis.

“I don’t want to go into it specifically, doing deals and business with people you should deal directly with them. Once they are done you can talk about them more openly. That’s the way I prefer to conduct my business.

“We’ll be spending a bit of money left over from the previous window, then moving on from there. They (West Brom’s owners) are very keen to keep the club running financially positively. They feel they can if they manage it properly.”