Ex-Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit has played down the chances of former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane replacing Graham Potter in the dugout at Stamford Bridge.
The Frenchman has been made one of the favourites to be appointed if Potter leaves the Blues, but Petit believes Zidane’s inability to speak the language will be a major issue:
“Zinedine Zidane doesn’t speak English so he’s not the proper choice for Chelsea to replace Potter, with all due respect to my former teammate.”
Supporters on Twitter had a mixed reaction to Petit’s remarks. Some agree it would not be a good move to hire a non-English speaker, while others feel he could learn on the job:
I said the exact same thing. The language barrier will be crazy
— JM☄️🥇 (@JmHundo) February 27, 2023
He can learn. If he can speak Spanish and French, the rest na jara!
— dr ezebuiroh victor (@ezebuvick) February 27, 2023
genuinely baffles me that a man like Zidane wouldn’t have learnt at least a decent amount of English over the years purely for being Zidane and going places and events where people converse in English
— Laurenz Vescoli (@Laus1507) February 27, 2023
Poch didn’t at Southampton and at the start of his time at Spurs , Bielsa still doesn’t and was at Leeds for 3 years.
— Frank (@CFCFrank5) February 27, 2023
We need to get Luis Enrique
— Zubby (@CyprianOkpala) February 27, 2023
It's Zizou, I'm sure he can point a grunt and still be better than Pottah🍻🇬🇧
— (2 in 17🤣)DrogbaTheKING 🇮🇪☘️ (@MackeyCFC) February 27, 2023
Personally I don't even think Zidane is a good coach tbh
— 𝕡𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕒 (@CruiseLordNG) February 27, 2023
He will learn
— Big Steppa (@BigStep7477) February 27, 2023
Oh God, it doesn't matter.
His presence alone is inspiring.— Stephen Yiasam Adzido🔟🇬🇭 (@StephenAdzido) February 27, 2023
Reports suggest Zidane may be the one who is reluctant to take a job in England anyway so, it could well be the case that he doesn’t really have any interest in learning the language.
There are other managers being considered. It is believed ex-Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino and Sporting Lisbon head coach Ruben Amorim may also be in the frame if Chelsea do decide to seek a new manager.
