Real Madrid will implement a major change in the summer as reports emerged that the Spanish giants are monitoring the development of Mauricio Pochettino, who sacked as Tottenham manager November last year. With eyes set on the Argentine boss, there were suggestions that the Los Blancos plans to soon give Zinedine Zidane the boot.
Despite the 2-0 win over Barcelona in the last El Clasico, it appears that unrest is the prevailing mood in Bernabeu. Prior to the Sunday match, Zidane's side was reeling from two consecutive losses, and notwithstanding the club's return at the top of La Liga, there were "strained relationships in the dressing room."
Citing unnamed sources, The Independent said in a report that Zidane's dealings with senior members of the Real Madrid roster generated tensions that resulted in discomfort between the club boss and a number of key players.
"Some are said to have been unhappy with certain managerial approaches," the same report claimed.
In addition, it is understood that Zidane and Real president Florentino Perez are frequently locked in bitter disagreements, with the latter taking issue on the Frenchman's tendency to run the club his way. Overall, the team seemed unhappy with Zidane's performance when compared to his first spell at Real, in which he steered the club to three European Cup wins and a domestic title.
If the soured relationships in the team are not mended soon, the likelihood is there that Real Madrid will look for a new team manager, and Pochettino is on top of the list.
It is not the first time that Pochettino is considered to take charge of Real. Per the same report, he was, in fact, on the club's radar before Zidane was persuaded to return last year. The Argentine had made clear that his next step following his exit from the Spurs will be take up similar managing jobs in Europe.
"There are a lot of clubs and attractive projects for me to take on ... It is my intention to return to manage in Europe," the Daily Star reported Pochettino as saying.
He issued the statement shortly after his sacking from Tottenham. The Argentine said then that he would need to pull things together by returning to Argentina but assured his managing career in football is far from over.
Pochettino was previously linked to take over the job vacated by Unai Emery, but Arsenal eventually hired Mikel Arteta for the slot.
If true that Real Madrid will be running after him once Zidane is out, Pochettino will be caught in an enviable position of having to between Spain or the Premier League. Supposedly, he is also a target by Manchester United in the event the English club will let go of current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
