Kylian Mbappe's Real Madrid transfer may be at risk, Harry Kane will have to force Tottenham exit - Transfer Notebook
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Updated 18/05/2021 at 11:13 GMT
Two potential exits dominate Dean Jones’ Transfer Notebook this week: Zinedine Zidane from Real Madrid and Harry Kane from Tottenham. Zidane’s exit could spell trouble for Madrid’s pursuit of Kylian Mbappe, while England captain Kane may have to force his way out of Tottenham if he wants to leave this summer.
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Mbappe's Real switch in doubt if Zidane leaves
Kylian Mbappe’s potential transfer to Real Madrid will be thrown into some doubt if Zinedine Zidane quits Real Madrid.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward has not yet agreed a new contract in France and it has been expected that Madrid would finally put a bid on the table this summer.
The Madrid project to land Mbappe has been a long time in the making and President Florentino Perez has outlined his vision with Zidane at the helm.
As part of any discussions around Mbappe, it is the aura and winning mentality of Zidane that has been used as a selling tactic in convincing the Frenchman that when he takes the step away from Ligue 1 he needs to arrive at the Santiago Bernabeu.
As a French legend and serial Champions League winner, Zidane would seem a perfect boss for Mbappe — who craves the biggest prizes in the game.
Perez imagined Zidane would be at the club another five years, yet as his contract begins to wind down it now appears the boss has itchy feet.
Reports from Spain suggest he will step down from his role after the last game of the season at the weekend and, while Zidane has played down such talk, the speculation remains.
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Another Madrid legend, Raul, is being linked with the job, along with former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri.
If Mbappe is going to be persuaded to leave PSG this summer, he will want to know quickly what the contingency plan is.
A Zidane exit at Madrid will open the door for new opportunities at the club for other players, though.
Martin Odegaard, Dani Ceballos and Luka Jovic are all currently out on loan but will be given the chance to work their way back into the first team in the summer. The chances of that trio doing so without Zidane in charge would be improved.
£150 million might not be enough to convince Levy to sell Kane
It has emerged that Kane has informed owner Daniel Levy that he would like a transfer but early information out of the club is that they have no intention at all of letting him go.
Kane is a club legend but now finds himself in a situation where demanding a move could become awkward - and even impact his status as an icon.
From Spurs' point of view, Kane has a contract until 2024, he is the Premier League’s leading scorer, and he is the England captain, who is about to lead his nation into a major European tournament. His stock could not be much higher.
At this stage it is expected that even a bid of £150 million would not be enough to convince Levy to let him go.
Levy does not want to sell Kane at all - and certainly not to another English club.
It could be that if Mbappe does leave PSG then that becomes a potential landing spot for Kane, who still has a great relationship with Mauricio Pochettino.
The idea of playing abroad has never particularly appealed to family man Kane but if he is adamant he wants to leave Spurs for the chance to win club trophies, it might have to become a path he considers more strongly.
Ideally, Kane likes the idea of joining Manchester City and last summer there were internal conversations where the club were reminded of his personal drive to win trophies.
They asked him to stay and strive to do so at Spurs and while that has not happened, the reality is that Kane has signed a big money, long-term contract and now finds himself stuck - just as other top names have found themselves in similar situations in recent seasons.
Neymar, Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Gareth Bale are some of the stars to have had major difficulties getting away from big teams during unhappy times.
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