Zinedine Zidane targeted three Manchester United players during his final year at Real Madrid, which has fueled speculation linking him to the club.
The Frenchman is the frontrunner to succeed Jose Mourinho in the hot seat at Old Trafford following the team’s poor start to the 2018-19 campaign, having left his post as Real Madrid manager back in May.
The 46-year-old coach enjoyed unprecedented success during his two and a half year tenure at the Santiago Bernabeu, winning three consecutive Champions League trophies and one La Liga title along with a host of other major honours.
SEE ALSO: Video: Gary Neville names Man United duo as among best players this season despite club’s miserable start
Some Man United fans are genuinely losing the plot over missing punctuation in Paul Pogba’s latest tweet
“Does my head in” – Paul Pogba’s actions before Man United’s draw with Valencia has these fans outraged
Meanwhile, the Red Devils have endured mixed fortunes over the last two years with Mourinho, who managed to win the League Cup and a Europa League title during his first season but ended up trophyless in his second.
After losing three of their first seven games in the Premier League this term, United are nine points behind their title rivals already and seem to be struggling in all aspects on the pitch, most notably in the final third.
According to the Manchester Evening Standard, Zidane is a big fan of Anthony Martial, David De Gea and Paul Pogba, all of whom he registered an interest in during his final season in Madrid.
This latest news is an intriguing development in this ongoing saga, with Mourinho hanging by a thread in his current role at United and the ex-France international looming large in the background.
The Portuguese boss seems to have lost the confidence of his players amid reports of a well-publicised row with Pogba and fractious relationships with other key members of the squad, as per the Guardian.
The Red Devils face off against Newcastle United on Saturday at Old Trafford, which is a must-win game for the home side if they are to get their season back on track quickly.
Next up for #MUFC:
? Newcastle
? Saturday 6 October
? Old Trafford
? 17:30 BST
? #PL
? https://t.co/RK8iZgD9v2 pic.twitter.com/G2WXOtqxnl— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 4, 2018
A 3-1 defeat against West Ham last Saturday was followed up by a dire 0-0 draw against Valencia in Europe on Wednesday, which extended the club’s run without a win to four games.
Could Zidane get the best out of Pogba and Martial if he were to take over at the Theatre of Dreams? Or should Mourinho be allowed to see out his current contract regardless of the team’s current lack of identity?
All will be revealed in the coming weeks as the fixtures start to pile up and the stakes start to increase, both in the Champions League and on the domestic front.