Zinedine Zidane 'one step away' from joining surprise new club amid Man Utd links

Zinedine Zidane is 'one step away' from making a surprise return to football management, according to a new report.

Zidane has been out of management since his departure from Real Madrid in 2021.

The 51-year-old enjoyed two separate spells with Los Blancos, but despite being linked with a plethora of other clubs including Manchester United, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain, hasn't coached another team in his career.

That could all be about to change, with Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo claiming that Zidane is close to replacing Thomas Tuchel as manager of Bayern Munich.

Tuchel will leave his role as Bayern boss at the end of the campaign following a disappointing domestic season - although the former Chelsea manager could end his time at the club as a Champions League winner for the second time in his career.

Mundo Deportivo add that an agreement has not yet been signed with Zidane due to 'missing details', while the 51-year-old is also said to have asked for assurances in the transfer market.

Zidane has been heavily linked with potentially replacing Erik ten Hag at Manchester United in recent months.

The Real icon has been learning English, according to former international team-mate Emmanuel Petit, while there have been tentative links with taking over at Liverpool from Jurgen Klopp.

The Bayern interest, therefore, appears to have come from left-field, with reports claiming that the Bavarians were in talks with current Germany national team coach Julian Nagelsmann over signing a three-year contract.

But any hope of Nagelsmann returning to the Allianz Arena - just over a year after the club sacked him - were quashed when it was announced that he had signed a new contract with Germany until the 2026 World Cup.

Bayern were also keen on appointing their former player Xabi Alonso, but the Liverpool icon publicly confirmed that he would remain with Bayer Leverkusen shortly before leading them to their first Bundesliga title.