Back in 1996, Newcastle United came ever so close to signing a French midfielder by the name of Zinedine Zidane.
The Magpies had been offered the chance to sign the Bordeaux midfielder in 1996, but the Tyneside club’s scout over in France didn’t rate Zidane so a deal was off the table.
As we all know, this would go on to be one of the Premier League’s biggest transfer mistakes. Zidane would go on to be one of the greatest players of all-time, while Newcastle’s long wait for a piece of silverware continues.
Newcastle have lived to regret that decision for 25 years now, but they may be about to atone for that error by signing the next best thing, Sergej Milinovic-Savic.
Indeed, the Serbian midfielder is reportedly on Newcastle’s radar this summer, and, somewhat ironically, he has previously been compared to Zizou by his agent, former Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman.
“He has remarkable attributes and you’ll not find another player in the world with that power, muscular structure and height combined with technique and tactical awareness. He has the touch of a Brazilian and some of the things he does remind me of Zinedine Zidane,” Kezman said.
It has to be said that Milinkovic-Savic does have a touch of Zidane about him. He’s a physically strong, 6ft 3 midfielder who can glide across the pitch and has an incredibly silky touch.
Much like Zidane, Milinkovic-Savic can do it all on the pitch, and if he ends up at Newcastle, he would be an absolute superstar on Tyneside.
Of course, the Lazio star isn’t quite on Zidane’s level, but if he’s put into the right team and given the right coaching, he could hit the heights of the former Ballon d’Or winner.
Newcastle missed out on Zidane in 1996, but in 2022, they may be about to get the next best thing.
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