Zinedine Zidane’s return to Real Madrid has sparked plenty of theories ahead of the summer transfer window.
Given how the season has gone for Los Blancos, it would be a surprise if they don’t back the Frenchman heavily in the transfer market and that could be bad news for a couple of Premier League clubs – especially the ones in London.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen has long been linked with a move to the Santiago Bernabeu as has Eden Hazard who has made little secret of his admiration for Zidane in the past and Chelsea fans are awaiting a decision over his future.
Zidane was quizzed about resigning Cristiano Ronaldo during his presentation on Monday evening, and wasn’t giving much away.
“We’re not here to talk about him today,” he told reporters. “We’ve now got 11 games to come, we’re going to focus on them and we’ll then think about next year.
“Cristiano Ronaldo rewrote the history books at this club and nobody can change that. He’s been one of the best players, but today isn’t the day to be talking about that.”
Whilst that’s neither confirmation or a denial regarding the Portugal superstar following him back to the Santiago Bernabeu, comments from Zidane over a decade ago hints at what his priority will be when it comes to bolstering his squad in the summer.
The 46-year-old knows all too well about president Florentino Perez’s policy of signing big-name players and wasn’t particularly pleased about the sale of Claude Makekele to Chelsea in the summer of 2003 and the subsequent arrival of David Beckham from Manchester United
“Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?,” was Zidane’s response and with rumours of Luka Modric leaving at the end of the season, these comments are extremely relevant.
Whilst the Croatia international hasn’t been at his very best this season, he played a key role in Madrid’s dominance in the Champions League and was referred to as the ‘engine’ by Zlatko Dalic before last summer’s World Cup.
“He’s the engine that makes us go,” the Croatia manager said. “He’s also a captain who leads by example.
“He always gives his maximum, sets high standards with his attitude, aggression and energy on the pitch, and with his behaviour off it.”
Amid reports that Madrid could be losing their ‘engine’ rumours in Italy claim Zidane wants his first signing to be compatriot N’Golo Kante and that would coincide with his comments regarding transfers and the importance of non-‘Galactico’ players.
Kante is a wonderful player in his own right but doesn’t have the profile of players such as Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Hazard.
But taking Zidane’s reaction to Makelele’s sale in 2003 into account, Chelsea fans should be more concerned about Kante leaving rather than Hazard even if the Frenchman signed a new contract earlier in the season.