It has been a challenging season for Manchester United, who look set to comfortably miss out on Champions League qualification having already been eliminated from this year's competition at the first phase.
The injury crisis at Old Trafford has undoubtedly played a major role in the team's misfortune, but the mismanagement of Erik Ten Hag cannot be ignored as an equally great cause of the team's dire form.
Ten Hag has repeatedly persisted with selecting out-of-form players, and his midfield setup in particular has baffled tacticos, pundits, and fans alike in recent weeks.
United are regularly conceding 20+ shots on their own goal in games, while their lack of structure in midfield is leading to limited opportunities for the likes of Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho up front.
All the above comes as Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS group prepares to take control of their first summer at Manchester United since buying a controlling stake in the footballing operations at the club earlier this year.
With a change of ownership coupled with the team's poor form, a change of manager is not out of the question this summer - and sensational reports in France suggest that legend Zinedine Zidane is keeping tabs on a potential opening in Manchester.
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French media report Zinedine Zidane monitoring Manchester United situation
Zinedine Zidane has been out of work since departing his second stint as Real Madrid manager in the summer of 2021. He has emerged in recent weeks as one of the favourites to replace Thomas Tuchel as Bayern Munich manager when the German exits this summer.
L'Équipe's Loic Tanzi reported on Friday, however, that Zidane is holding out in hope of landing the Manchester United job should Erik Ten Hag be sacked at the end of the season.
Though L'Équipe's report confirms that Zidane has a contract offer on the table from Bayern, Tanzi says that the Frenchman holds reservations about the German language and life in Bavaria, with Manchester seen as a more attractive option and challenge.
Kyiv, Ukraine, 26 May 2018 - Manager Zinedine Zidane after Real Madrid won their third consecutive European crown in the 2018 Champions League final (Photo: Shutterstock)
Earlier this year, French outlet Foot Mercato reported that Ratcliffe's INEOS group had shortlisted Zidane as a potential spearhead for the new era at Old Trafford.
A World Cup winner, European champion at both club and international level and three-time World Player of the Year during his playing career, Zidane stands as one of the greatest of all time.
His stint as Real Madrid manager during the 2010s, however, suggested that he had the potential to match that greatness as a coach. Taking over in January 2016, Zidane guided Los Blancos to back-to-back-to-back Champions League crowns - making them the first team to achieve such a feat since Bayern Munich in the 1970s. He also added the La Liga title in 2017, and another domestic crown in 2021 during his second stint in charge.
With doubts over the future of Erik Ten Hag, Manchester United could certainly do worse than give serious consideration to Zinedine Zidane.
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