Zinedine Zidane’s interest in Premier League players isn’t limited to Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, with the Frenchman planning to raid Manchester United and Liverpool too.
The 46-year-old was unveiled by Real Madrid on Monday, returning to the club where he won three successive Champions League trophies just 10 months after leaving.
Zidane had felt the squad needed a complete overhaul before leaving the first time – wanting to sell the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale to fund it – though president Florentino Perez had been reluctant to greenlight such a dramatic transformation.
But now the club’s domestic struggles coupled with their embarrassing Champions League exit to Ajax have seen Zidane return and he will be given the backing required to turn things around.
Real’s interest in the likes of Hazard and PSG star Kylian Mbappe is well known, but El Chiringuito TV have revealed two more names on his wishlist: Paul Pogba and Sadio Mane.
Pogba, who has been linked with Real before, is believed to be keen to play under Zidane at some point in his career, with the 1998 World Cup winner his idol when he was growing up.
The midfielder’s form has surged under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in recent months, delivering the kind of performances that made United break the Premier League transfer record to sign him.
United would try everything to stop Pogba from leaving and Real would need to offer a huge amount of money – with several high-profile sales needed before they could bankroll such an audacious summer spend.
Mane, meanwhile, has outshone Mohamed Salah this season – with no Premier League player scoring more non-penalty goals this season – though has a contract at Anfield until 2023 and would be equally hard to prise away.
Nevertheless, Zidane feels Real need a huge injection of quality players in their prime to galvanise a jaded and ageing squad and is hoping to oversee one of the most ambitious summer spends ever seen.