Advertisement

Paul Scholes doubts Zinedine Zidane is right man to replace Jose Mourinho if Manchester United boss is sacked

Jack de Menezes

Paul Scholes has doubts over Zinedine Zidane’s suitability to be the next Manchester United manager when Jose Mourinho eventually leaves, with the former England midfielder unsure on the Frenchman’s ability to rebuild a club desperately short on confidence.

Zidane is strongly considered by bookmakers to be the next United manager if the Premier League club decides to sack Mourinho, or he chooses to leave of his own accord.

With last Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal dropping United to eighth in the Premier League table and an alarming 18 points of rivals Manchester City, Mourinho is under growing pressure to turn their form around and prove his project at Old Trafford is not a lost cause.

One of his harshest critics since replacing Louis van Gaal in 2016 has been former United midfielder Scholes, but in the wake of the comeback draw with Arsenal, Scholes turned his attentions to Mourinho’s potential replacement instead.

READ MORE: Kane relishing Premier League Golden Boot battle following World Cup

READ MORE: Jordan Henderson hails 'outstanding' Naby Keita

READ MORE: Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

“Is Zidane the right man, though?” said Scholes on BT Sport .

“He went in to Real Madrid, who had a group of ready-made winners already.

“This is a totally different job; he would have to rebuild confidence with a squad that isn’t quite performing.

“He went to Real Madrid with so many great players, it was still difficult, but this would be a whole rebuilding job.”

While Madrid certainly had a talented squad for Zidane to work with – one that went on to win three consecutive Champions League titles before his shock departure in the summer – it was still a squad that was not performing to its full potential, which inevitably led to the sacking of Rafa Benitez after just seven months in the job.

The 46-year-old has remained out of football since leaving the Liga club, but has hinted that he is now open to a return to management and has been strongly linked with United should Mourinho no longer be the man in favour at Old Trafford.