Football
Zinedine Zidane is replacing one of the Manchester Clubs
Former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is reportedly keen on managing in the Premier League and is keeping a close eye on Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho.
Zidane left Real Madrid in May, just days after guiding Los Blancos to a third consecutive Champions League with victory over Liverpool.
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.
L’Equipe claim that Zidane wants to manage in the Premier League and is especially keen on taking charge at Old Trafford.
Mourinho is currently in charge at Manchester United though appears to be frustrated following a lack of significant transfer activity during the summer.
The Red Devils brought in Diogo Dalot, Fred and Lee Grant but Mourinho wanted a centre-back, though the club didn’t deliver.
The Portuguese boss is into his third year as united manager, and seldom stays at a club for more than a trio of seasons.
His first stint at Chelsea is still his longest with Mourinho ruling the roost between June 2004 and September 2007.
Reports previously claimed that United have Zidane on a shortlist of candidates if Mourinho was to leave at the end of the season.
The 55-year-old is under increased pressure to deliver success to United having failed to lift a trophy last campaign.
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 (4pm).