The deal will be completed in the New Year

The Chinese Football Association (CFA) will approve "within days" a deal in which United take a controlling stake in Chengdu Five Bull, the club claims.

An official with the Chengdu Football Association said: "We are going through the final procedures."

Chengdu is a city of 11 million people in China's Sichuan province.

The club ran into financial trouble after a sponsor, a local cigarette company, pulled out.

Huge fan base

"The CFA sees this as a good thing so we think it will only be a matter of days (before approval is granted)," the official said.

The two clubs reached a deal in principle last week, he added, refusing to disclose the financial details.

Although the go-ahead from the CFA is expected in a few days time, the formal announcement is not likely to come until next month when Sheffield officials go to Chengdu to begin management of the club.

We are taking the Blades global Sheffield chairman Kevin McCabe

Chengdu is expected to offer Sheffield a huge fan base as the capital of Sichuan, one of China's most populous provinces with some 100m people.

"We are taking the Blades global with the acquisition of the Chengdu Five Bull Football Club in China," Sheffield chairman Kevin McCabe said at the club's recent annual meeting.

Chinese veteran national striker, Hao Haidong, currently playing with Sheffield, is expected to return to China to help coach the team and smooth over the transition as the club takes on English-style management practices.