Kovacic spent three years plying his trade under Zidane in Madrid after joining Real from Inter Milan in 2015. During his time in Spain, the 29-year-old racked up 109 appearances but failed to make it onto the pitch during Madrid’s three consecutive Champions League final triumphs between 2016 and 2018.

Kovacic eventually joined Chelsea on loan in 2018 before making his move permanent the following summer in a £40million deal.

Lampard took over from Maurizio Sarri at the start of Kovacic’s second season in England. And in February 2020, the Croatia international told FourFourTwo: “Zidane was similar to the way Frank Lampard is as a coach, and their approaches really suit me.

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“It was nice to play under Zidane, but I thought he could have given me a deserved opportunity in the third Champions League final. That was the main reason for my dissatisfaction, but that’s football and we parted with no bad feelings.”

Zidane is widely regarded as one of the best managers of his generation, having led Real to two Club World Cup successes and two La Liga titles on top of their European trophies. Lampard, on the other hand, was sacked by Chelsea at the start of 2021, before losing his job at Everton two years later.

Zidane has been out of work since quitting Real Madrid in May 2021 following a second spell in charge of the Spanish giants. But the 51-year-old is now said to be attracting interest from Bayern Munich, who are set to part company with Thomas Tuchel at the end of the campaign.

According to L’Equipe, Zidane is unwilling to rush into anything with Bayern until he sees how the situation at Old Trafford plays out. And United minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe could be licking his lips at the prospect of welcoming the Frenchman to Old Trafford.

“When someone says to me, ‘do you want to go to Manchester?’ - I understand English but I don't fully master it,” Zidane explained in 2022 as he discussed a move to Old Trafford. “I know there are coaches who go to clubs without speaking the language, but I work differently. I want to do everything on my side to optimise my chances of victory.”