United and Wolves have reached agreement over the terms of Bothroyd's mooted transfer to Elland Road, but the former Perugia and Charlton forward is taking his time to consider the option of dropping into League One.

Bothroyd, who played for Coventry City while Gary McAllister was manager at Highfield Road, has 12 months left to run on his contract at Molineux, and sources in the West Midlands claim he is in two minds over the chance to continue his career with Leeds.

A move to Yorkshire would almost certainly require Bothroyd to accept a sizeable drop in wages – he is believed to be earning in the region of £8,000 a week with Wolves – but United are hoping to exploit his lack of involvement with Mick McCarthy's first-team squad.

The striker is surplus to requirements at Molineux and spent a month on loan at Stoke City last season having drifted out of contention under McCarthy.

He was omitted from the Wolves squad which contested a pre-season friendly against Hereford United on Wednesday evening, and did not embark on the club's tour of Scotland today. He was named instead in a second-string squad to play Chasetown last night.

Wolves have made it clear that they will allow Bothroyd to find a new club this summer, and they have accepted United's offer for the player. The fee is understood to be worth six figures, rising to a maximum of around £300,000 depending on appearances.

Officials at Molineux are said to be sceptical about the likelihood of Bothroyd accepting a transfer to Leeds, but his intentions are likely to become clearer next week.

McAllister plans to add two new strikers to his squad before the start of the season, on top of the deal agreed with Enoch Showunmi, and he will hope to persuade Bothroyd that a transfer to Leeds could lead to a long and successful stay at Elland Road.

Bothroyd's career has seen him play in Serie A with Perugia and in the Premier League with both Charlton and Blackburn Rovers, and he has been part of the squad at Wolves since the summer of 2006.