Zinedine Zidane Reportedly Having Doubts About Manchester United Job

Zinedine Zidane's replacement of Jose Mourinho as Manchester United manager may not be a foregone conclusion, with the Frenchman having doubts about taking the job.

The Guardian's Sid Lowe told ESPN FC (h/t Lewis Winter of the Daily Express) he believes Zidane wouldn't want to "be seen having instigated the move" to usurp Mourinho.

Lowe also said the Frenchman is "very well aware of the floors within" the United team.

The sentiment echoes one expressed in a report from French source Le Parisien (h/t Dan O'Toole of the Manchester Evening News) that the state of things at United concerns Zidane.

Talk of Zidane stepping in for Mourinho intensified when RMC Sport (h/t AS) recently reported the former Real madrid boss is in pole position and wants to bring ex-United left-back Patrice Evra in as coach.

Zidane's wariness of the environment at United makes sense given the way things have unravelled with the club recently. The Red Devils have lost three of seven matches in the Premier League and already suffered elimination from the 2018 Carabao Cup at the hands of Championship side Derby County.

Perhaps the nadir moment came on Saturday, when Mourinho's squad limply fell to West Ham United, 3-1, at the London Stadium:

Those setbacks have naturally raised troubling questions about Mourinho's future. Things are beginning to look bleak for the 55-year-old amid rumours of spats with more than one senior star.

The Sun's Neil Custis reported club-record buy Paul Pogba has told United he wants out during the January transfer window if Mourinho is still in charge. Meanwhile, the same source also noted how forward Alexis Sanchez is "embarrassed" by the team's tactics.

The atmosphere at United may seem close to toxic, but Zidane could feel confident about turning the situation around. He won one La Liga title and three straight UEFA Champions League trophies as manager of Real Madrid.

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His tenure began when he replaced Rafa Benitez during the 2015/16 campaign, proof of his ability to revive a struggling squad amid the rigours of a season. Zidane's spell in the Spanish capital also proved he knows how to handle the egos of star players in football's modern era.

He successfully juggled personnel, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, across various competitions.

Some, including United legend and Sky Sports analyst Gary Neville, believe the Reds' problems go beyond Mourinho:

However, it's equally easy to contend United is a squad full of talents who are underperforming and something has to give, no matter who is most at fault.

Players such as Pogba, like Zidane a World Cup champion with France, would surely look up to the man who defined a generation for Les Bleus as a player.

Zidane would command respect and unify a squad that needs to get back on track soon in a season already rapidly spiralling out of control. It's an opportunity he might strongly consider.