Zinedine Zidane is on the verge of being appointed the new Real Madrid manager – and wants to make Christian Eriksen one of his star summer signings, according to Guillem Balague.
The BBC journalist and Spanish football expert claimed in a video uploaded on to his personal Twitter account on Monday afternoon that Zidane is set to be announced today as the Real boss for a second time.
Balague explained how Zidane has been given the go-ahead to bring in the players he wants and those include Spurs playmaker Eriksen and Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard.
“That may mean difficulties for Gareth Bale, he didn’t get on very well with Zidane, Sergio Ramos will have his authority reinforced,” Balague explained.
“Zidane also wants the likes of Hazard and perhaps even Eriksen to the side. He will get given all the sporting authority and all the things that he suggested last summer that Florentino Perez didn’t want to do, most of them will be done now.
“He is coming in with the idea of not just managing the side, but managing the decisions of the first team of Real Madrid.
First was @jpedrerol with the news. Now we have all confirmed it. Zidane will be the new manager of #RealMadrid pic.twitter.com/EZlR07qCZm
— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) March 11, 2019
OPINION
In one respect, the imminent appointment of Zidane is good news for Spurs. It means any summer pursuit from Real of Mauricio Pochettino is a non-starter, as the Frenchman is being brought in to conduct a much-needed overhaul of the playing squad and not just as a caretaker for the remainder of this season. But there must be concern that the reliable Balague is reporting genuine interest from Zidane in recruiting Eriksen. The great Dane has snubbed a series of contract offers from Spurs and, with his current deal due to expire in the summer of 2020, there are serious doubts as to where he will start next season. During his six years in north London, the 27-year-old has proved to be one of the outstanding creative players in Europe. There are concerns that a recent dip in form may be related to his contract stalemate. But, one thing’s for sure: Lilywhites would be devastated if Eriksen quit this summer to join Real.