If Zinedine Zidane, the Real Madrid icon, is called up by the Premier League’s biggest teams in their first summer under Ineos control, he ought to seize the opportunity to take Erik ten Hag’s place at Manchester United.
Eric de Meco, a former defender for Monaco and Marseille who teamed up with Zinedine Zidane for the French national team in the 1990s, says as much.
De Meco worries that the former World Cup winner could follow in the footsteps of players like Frank Rijkaard, Laurent Blanc, and, to a lesser extent, Alan Curbishley, since he hasn’t managed a team since ending his second stint in the Real Madrid dugout three years ago.
The more time you spend away from the
game, he argues, the more likely you are to fall out of contention when some rather attractive jobs become available. Such as, for example, the Manchester United one, Erik ten Hag fighting for his future under a new and ambitious ownership group led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.