Yes and no. Real have some very talented younger players - Vinicius Junior, Valverde, Rodrygo to name a few. Zidane preferred to use the old guard more - Modric, Ramos, Kroos, Benzema. I do think Real will sign Mbappe as their new "number 7".
Have said that Ian, they might play safe and go for Sean Dyche? Or Potter and see if he can spread a magical spell of sustained success for the blue half of Merseyside.
I can definitely see it. To pull out of Celtic at the last moment suggests he's maybe had his head turned by someone in recent times. I don't completely buy the line about it being down to the make-up of his coaching team, because they've had ages to discuss that. If that was the reason, talks would surely have ended weeks ago. Now sure, the jobs at Palace and Wolves have recently become available. So it could be them (although Eddie might need to find himself a Portuguese grandfather for it to be Wolves). But Bmouth's failure to get promoted probably means that they'll look elsewhere from Woodgate. And after a years break, maybe Eddie is quite happy to return and give it another go. The Everton news potentially changes that, mind you.
Funny how much Everton fans dislike Ron when none of the managers since have matched his 7th place and European qualification. Howe won't go there imo. Reckon that'd end in tears too.
It's been a major problem for both Barca and Real. It's not just that Zidane preferred the old guard, it's that there's quite a bit of institutional pressure to stick with the aging core at both clubs. Look at Barca's recent election: the candidate who campaigned on getting back to relying on La Masia and renewing the squad over time lost rather handily to the guy whose primary promise was that they'd retain Messi. Letting go of the past is really unpopular, and given that presidents of both clubs are (at least in theory, with Real) elected, there's a political dimension to allowing that atrophy to continue.
