Man Utd now have the appointment of Zinedine Zidane as a âclear objectiveâ as he demands the signing of a Barcelona defender, according to reports.
The Red Devils had a strong first season under Erik ten Hag with the Dutchman guiding them to an FA Cup final, League Cup silverware and a top-four finish in the Premier League.
But last term took a downward turn for most of the campaign with Man Utd finishing eighth in the Premier League before managing to rescue their season by beating Man City in the FA Cup final to give themselves Europa League football in 2024.
That victory plus a lack of obvious candidates to take over saw Ten Hag keep his job at Old Trafford with INEOS trusting him to lead Man Utd into the new season.
However, that has so far not gone to plan with an opening weekend win over Fulham followed by two defeats to Brighton and Liverpool.
The manner of the 3-0 defeat at home to arch-rivals Liverpool has piled pressure on Ten Hag after only three Premier League matches and thereâs already speculation that he could lose his job.
And now reports in Spain claim that former Real Madrid boss Zidane is seen by Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe âas the ideal candidate to take the reinsâ at Old Trafford if Ten Hag is given the boot.
It is claimed that âif the results do not improve in the coming weeks, the club will not hesitate to move to attract the European champion to the Premier Leagueâ.
However, Zidane âwould not come aloneâ and âwould arrive with a list of demands and reinforcements that he considers essential to be able to carry out his project in Manchesterâ.
And Barcelona defender Jules Kounde âstands out above the restâ as the player he wants to bring with him to Man Utd after âestablishing himself as one of the best full-backs in the worldâ.
Zidane is âwilling to do everything possible to have him in his squad if he accepts United âs proposalâ with the Frenchmanâs âreturn to the coaching staff promises to be a real bombshell in the managerial marketâ.
MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE FROM F365âŠ
đ Five Manchester United fiascos that will see Erik ten Hag sacked on December 14
đ Sancho 10), Bellingham rises, Kane overtakes Gazza and Owen â ranking every foreign-based England player
đ Man Utd team-mates have Casemiroâs decline âtheoryâ as he âdidnât sign upâ for this
Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton insists Man Utd are going âbackwardsâ under Ten Hag, he told casinoapps.com: âThe serious point is that the club made the decision for Erik ten Hag to stay on after winning the FA Cup. It was well known that they were looking for another manager and couldnât find one, so Erik ten Hag stayed.
âThe question I think Manchester United fans will be asking after the first three games is: âHas there been any noticeable change or improvement? Do they look like theyâre going to make progress under Ten Haag?â
âThe truthful answer to both would be no. Heâs won a couple of cups since heâs been at Manchester United but, overall, I think last season the club went backwards. Most people recognise that â the FA Cup win saved his job.â
Sutton added: âINEOS have come in with Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox, who I played with at Blackburn, and there has been a lot of changes behind-the-scenes at the club.
âManchester United have got a couple of tricky away games on the horizon in Southampton, who are without a win but will be looking to take a scalp, and Crystal Palace, who trounced them last year 4-0 at Selhurst Park. Theyâre games that United fans will be expecting to win, and they could really bring the heat on ten Hag.â
