Manchester United move quick, rubbish Zidane speculation
Manchester United have moved quickly to rubbish suggestions that they have lined up Zinedine Zidane as a replacement for beleaguered boss Jose Mourinho.
United suffered their third Premier League defeat of the season as they were beaten 3-1 by West Ham at the London Stadium at the end of a week when they were held by Wolves and humbled in the Carabao Cup by Championship side Derby.
Mourinho is under growing pressure to reverse the slide – and he is also coming under scrutiny after a huge falling out with Paul Pogba that saw him strip the £90million Frenchman of the club's vice-captaincy.
But a senior United source insists that claims they have approached former Real Madrid boss Zidane as Mourinho's successor as “rubbish.”
United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is desperate to avoid making a his third managerial change inside six years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
Woodward's relationship with Mourinho is also under strain after he failed to deliver a number of his manager's transfer targets in the summer.
But United want to give Mourinho more time to arrest the slump and believe that making a change during the season is also fraught with danger.
Zidane is available after leaving Madrid in the summer despite delivering a third successive Champions League crown.
United are in ninth place in the Premier League – and are already nine points behind reigning champions Manchester City and Liverpool.
Mourinho now faces a crucial Champions League tie against Valencia at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.