Former Manchester United winger Lee Sharpe has claimed that Zinedine Zidane would be the "ideal candidate" to succeed Jose Mourinho as the club's new manager.

Speculation over Mourinho's future at Old Trafford continues to grow amid reports of fallouts with members of the club's hierarchy and playing staff, and former Real Madrid boss Zidane has been touted as a possible replacement.

Sharpe recently predicted that Mourinho would be sacked by United before Christmas, and he believes that the Portuguese manager's demeanour is hurting the team's morale.

"Mourinho is on trial again. He's never looked happy since he's been at the club. There just seems to be no plan at Man United. Nobody seems to know where they should be going and what they should be doing. I've heard a little whisper to say the manager is not really giving them a lot of instruction before games. He's just picking the team and letting them get on with it," Sharpe told talkSPORT.

"It seems to me that he hasn't got the players in that he wanted this summer, and he's gone into a bit of a sulk. He's just let the players crack on and do their own thing. When you're moping around, moaning about who you haven't been able to sign and about the lack of players you have, instead of bigging up the players you already have and filling them with confidence, I don't think it's good for team morale.

"I think Zidane would be the ideal candidate. He's played at the highest level, managed at the highest level and has been successful at both. He's a big enough name who could cope with the pressure and the questions asked of managing a club of that size so I think he would be ideal."

Zidane left Madrid just days after becoming the first manager in history to win three successive Champions League titles.