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Zinedine Zidane would want full control of transfers to consider taking the Manchester United job, in the event of Jose Mourinho ’s sacking.
While the Portuguese’s situation remains uncertain after the defiant 3-2 comeback against Newcastle United - and the club hierarchy are set to meet this week - with the same being true of the prospect of Zidane succeeding him. Key United executives remain split on both issues. Some think it is a fundamentally broken situation with Mourinho, but executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward remains reluctant to sack him.
Similarly, some are unsure whether Zidane’s success at Real Madrid involved the same challenges the current United situation would entail, but he is understood to be Woodward’s preferred choice if the worst does come to the worst with Mourinho.
Jose Mourinho's summer of miseryShow all 6 1 /6Jose Mourinho's summer of misery Jose Mourinho's summer of misery Jose Mourinho's summer of misery A difficult few weeks for Manchester United took a turn for the worse on Sunday when they were beaten 3-2 at Brighton in the Premier League. Manager Jose Mourinho has cut a frustrated figure as his team have laboured through pre-season and the opening weeks of the new campaign. Here, we a look at a summer of discontent at Old Trafford.
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Jose Mourinho's summer of misery Window Woes Mourinho had hoped to strengthen his squad significantly during the summer transfer window, but it ended without the arrival of the commanding defender he had wanted. Despite being linked with the likes of Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Jerome Boateng, Diego Godin and Yerry Mina, United added only Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant to the mix. Speculation persists that relations between Mourinho and the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward are strained.
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Jose Mourinho's summer of misery World Cup wait The manager was less than impressed after having to start pre-season without some of his biggest names after France, England and Belgium enjoyed extended stays at the World Cup finals and severely depleted his resources. Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Marouane Fellaini, Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard, Phil Jones and Marcus Rashford were all missing, although most answered Mourinho's call to cut short their post-tournament breaks.
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Jose Mourinho's summer of misery Pitch battle If things have been tetchy off the field, they have been little more relaxed on it. United stuttered through pre-season as they lost to Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and were little more than functional in a 2-1 victory over Leicester in their Premier League opener. However, they turned in a dreadful display to go down 3-2 at Brighton on Sunday with the scoreline flattering them somewhat.
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Jose Mourinho's summer of misery Martial War? Anthony Martial found himself in the firing line after leaving the club's US tour to attend the birth of his second child. Mourinho made little secret of his displeasure at the Frenchman's failure to return to the fold as quickly as he had expected, but 22-year-old Martial insisted his family would always come first.
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Jose Mourinho's summer of misery The problem with Pogba Paul Pogba has been something of an enigma since his club record £89million switch from Juventus in August 2016. His form on the pitch has been patchy to say the least, and rumours of a fractious relationship with his manager have refused to go away. Pogba did little to stem the speculation when he replied, "There are things that I cannot say otherwise I will get fined" when asked if he was happy at Old Trafford, but Mourinho, who has made the Frenchman his captain, has repeatedly insisted there is no issue.
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Zidane himself is however not one of those figures who is hugely driven to be a football manager, and just wants to stay in the game, so would only be prepared to take those jobs that perfectly appeal to him. Madrid sources say he left the Bernabeu because he knew an ageing squad - that had won four Champions Leagues in five years - was in need of deep renovation, that president Florentino Perez was unwilling to fund.
And while the 46-year-old is intrigued by the idea of managing United, he has similar reservations about their squad so would want an ideal situation and all of his demands to be met to consider it. One of those is thereby control of transfers.
Zidane’s agent Alain Migliaccio did play down links to Old Trafford in an interview with Journal du Dimanche last weekend.
“I do not think that he will manage in England. It is much less his style. I have discussed it with him, it does not really attract him. He has chosen to have a year out, he will not dive in again before that is over.”
Sources say this such comments are really public posturing, though, that reflect how strong Zidane’s hand is in any job negotiation.
Jose Mourinho's potential replacementsShow all 14 1 /14Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Who could potentially replace Jose Mourinho at Manchester United?
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Zinedine Zidane Current job: N/A Odds: 5/4 A three-time Champions League winner in his two-and-a-half years at Real Madrid, Zidane is the favourite to replace Mourinho. The 46-year-old has proved adept at managing egos and would be a popular choice with Old Trafford's French contingent, though doubts over his true extent of managerial ability remain.
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Antonio Conte Current job: N/A Odds: 10/1 Dismissed from Stamford Bridge this summer, Conte has a proven track record of winning trophies and Premier League pedigree. United, however, may be understandably wary about appointing another manager who has recently left Chelsea in acrimonious circumstances.
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Leonardo Jardim Current job: N/A Odds: 10/1 The highly-rated Jardim led Monaco to the Champions League semi-finals two seasons ago but was dismissed by the club recently after a poor start to the Ligue 1 season.
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Mauricio Pochettino Current job: Tottenham Hotspur Odds: 12/1 Pochettino has never hidden his ambitions to manage at the very highest level and would offer a more attractive style of play than his close friend Mourinho. Snaring him from Tottenham would be difficult but a power play on United's part.
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Brendan Rodgers Current job: Celtic Odds: 20/1 Rodgers appears to be coming to the end of time at Celtic, after disputes with the board. His association with Liverpool is likely to be a barrier to any role at Old Trafford, though.
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Roberto Martinez Current job: Belgium Odds: 20/1 Martinez has restored his reputation somewhat after leading Belgium to a third-place finish at the World Cup. His three years at Everton came with mixed fortunes.
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Carlo Ancelotti Current job: Napoli Odds: 20/1 A safe pair of hands, Ancelotti would - much like his former Madrid assistant Zidane - settle the dressing room and cope well with managing its various egos. His recent appointment at Napoli makes any return to the Premier League unlikely.
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Laurent Blanc Current job: N/A Odds: 20/1 Spent the final years of his playing career at United under Sir Alex Ferguson, Blanc has previously linked with a return to Old Trafford. Out of work since leaving Paris Saint-Germain in 2016, he may have been away from the elite level too long.
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Massimiliano Allegri Current job: Juventus Odds: 20/1 Allegri has enjoyed consistent success with Juventus in Italy, winning four consecutive Scudettos and reaching two Champions League finals. Vowed to move abroad once his time with the Old Lady is done but unlikely to depart any time soon.
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Ryan Giggs Current job: Wales Odds: 25/1 A club legend, caretaker in the aftermath of David Moyes' reign and an assistant to Louis van Gaal. Giggs was overlooked when Mourinho was appointed and promptly left. Now in charge of Wales, he still has much to prove in management.
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Didier Deschamps Current job: France Odds: 33/1 France's World Cup-winning manager would obviously be a hit with a certain midfielder at Old Trafford but whether his style of play would represent much of a change from Mourinho is debatable.
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Diego Simeone Current job: Atletico Madrid Odds: 33/1 Perhaps Mourinho's heir as the finest practioner of reactive, safety-first football in Europe, Simeone has given little indication that he is ready to leave his beloved Atletico.
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Jose Mourinho's potential replacements Eddie Howe Current job: Bournemouth Odds: 33/1 Approaching flavour-of-the-month status following Bournemouth's strong start to the season, Howe is nevertheless a talented, young English coach committed to an attractive brand of football. Perhaps ill-prepared for a job of this magnitude.
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Woodward would however be reluctant to hand over such power as regards transfers, since he is currently in the process of trying to restructure United’s entire technical department, to introduce a more modern continental model.
The lack of any immediately available replacement is also said to be a reason why Mourinho could yet stay in the job for some time. It is understood he is highly conscious of the Zidane links, though, with that playing on his mind. For his part, the Portuguese is now said to be philosophical about his future at United amid all the doubt around it.
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