Former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has emerged as a potential target for Tottenham as Daniel Levy's search to replace Antonio Conte gets underway.
The Spurs chairman opted to call time on Conte's reign as manager late on Sunday evening, just over a week after his now-infamous rant during his post-match press conference following the 3-3 draw away at Southampton. The Italian took aim at everyone from the players to the club in general with an apparent dig at Levy contributing to his exit.
In turn, Zidane has been touted as a shock replacement, as per Sky Italia. The Frenchman is notoriously selective over which jobs he chooses to take and that partly explains why he has been out of work since he left Real Madrid for the second time in May 2021.
Tottenham are not the first Premier League outfit he has been linked to in that time, though his reasoning for snubbing the Manchester United job at the end of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's reign mean it would come as quite a shock if he does end up in north London.
Speaking last summer, Zidane confessed the reason why he opted against taking the reins at Old Trafford was down to his need to fully grasp the English language before managing in the Premier League.
"Would I want to go to Manchester [United]? I understand English, but I’m not completely fluent in it," the four-time Champions League winner told French outlet L’Equipe.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Who should Spurs appoint to succeed Conte? Comment below
"I know that there are coaches who go to clubs without speaking the language, but I work in a different way. Many elements come into play in order to win, it is a global context. I know what I need to win."
In regards to his managerial career, Zidane has only ever taken charge of one club. In comments that will make for unwelcome reading from both the Spurs fanbase's and Levy's perspective, he also admitted there are only ‘two or three possibilities’ when it comes to which clubs he'd agree to manage.
"Never say never, especially when you are a coach today," Zidane admitted. "When I was a player, I had the choice, almost all the clubs. Coach, there aren’t fifty clubs I can go to.
"If I go to a club, it is to win. I say this with all modesty. That’s why I can’t go anywhere."
Zidane's final remark may be the most notable when it comes to the links with the Spurs vacancy. The Frenchman has said himself that winning is at the forefront of every decision he makes, so Conte's recent remarks surrounding the culture at the club could deter Zidane.
After the disappointing draw at St. Mary's, Conte claimed: "In my experience, I can tell you that if you want to be competitive, if you want to fight, you have to improve this aspect.
"And this aspect, I can tell you, in this moment is really, really low. And I see only 11 players that play for themselves. They are used to it here They don't play for something important.
"They don't want to play under pressure, they don't want to play under stress. I said that I wanted to see the fire, not that I have seen. It is different."
If Zidane does decline Spurs' advances, all reports suggest that Julian Nagelsmann is Levy's preferred candidate to occupy the hot-seat. However, there is an obstacle in that pursuit as well.
Nagelsmann was only sacked from his post as Bayern Munich boss last Friday and is rumoured to want a break before deciding his next move, whereas Levy is keen to get the ball rolling in terms of negotiations sooner rather than later.
