Zinedine Zidane has his eyes on a job in the Premier League – specifically the role of manager at Manchester United.
Vincent Duluc writes in L’Equipe on Wednesday that “After choosing to leave Real Madrid, the French coach would look to the Premier League today, starting next season. And especially towards Manchester United.
Sources explain in their article on Zidane that his former team mate Didier Deschamps has effectively pushed him to look towards England.
By winning the World Cup, Deschamps has locked down the job as France manager for the foreseeable future.
Even a failure at the Euros in 2020 would still see Deschamps in charge for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
As a result, taking over the France national team is not really an option for Zidane.
Whilst it would be fascinating to see Zinedine Zidane lock horns with the likes of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino, newspaper speculation does not always pan out as you think it might.
This could be an interesting sub plot to Jose Mourinho’s future at Old Trafford.
Current United coach Mourinho is under pressure at the club after a tumultuous pre-season which saw him bemoan their lack of summer transfer activity.
“Of course I am not happy” Mourinho Speaking in their Miami training base last month, the 55-year-old said : “Of course I am not happy.
“I don’t have the majority of the players that are going to be in the squad on 9 August, when the [transfer] market closes and we can make the squad official for the season.
“If you look to the players Chelsea and Liverpool have in pre-season, especially these two teams but also Arsenal, I think if you compare, you see the difference of the situation.”
He is still out of work despite a successful spell in the Spanish capital in what was the 46-year-old’s first senior managerial role.
During his time at the Bernabeu, the former Juventus midfielder also guided Real Madrid to the La Liga title in 2017 as well as two Club World Cup victories.
And, having spent almost three months away from the dugout, Zidane reportedly wants to get back to work.
Zidane was a member of Jose Mourinho’s coaching staff at Real Madrid Bookies Betfair have Zidane – who previously worked on Mourinho’s coaching staff at Real Madrid – as 5/2 favourite to replace the Portuguese if he is given his marching orders.
Other names in the running include Ryan Giggs, Carlo Ancelotti and Brendan Rodgers.
The Red Devils did finish second behind Manchester City in the Premier League though sat 19 points adrift of the champions.
Mourinho’s side were also FA Cup finalists but were beaten by Eden Hazard’s penalty at Wembley in May.
And pundit Chris Sutton thinks Mourinho is damaging United’s brand and may be sacked as a result.
“Not only has Jose Mourinho risked alienating his players and the fans in pre-season but he is damaging Manchester United’s brand, too. Carry on like this and he won’t be at the club come Christmas,” he said.
“Mourinho, the figurehead of the world’s biggest football club, told the 101,000 supporters who watched United’s 4-1 defeat by Liverpool in Michigan that they should have stayed away.
“He is starting to sound like a manager who wants out. To start dishing out ultimatums on transfer spending smacks of desperation. Once you start taking on the board, there is usually only one winner.
“Should Mourinho continue in this vein and his side suffer a slow start to the season, United will rapidly run out of patience.”
United began their Premier League season with a 2-1 win over Leicester on Friday thanks to goals from Paul Pogba and Luke Shaw.
They next face Brighton as they travel to the south coast on Sunday