Zenden: Arteta Could One Day Lead Barcelona, but Rashford Permanent Deal Is Unlikely

Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , former Barcelona , Liverpool and Chelsea midfielder Bolo Zenden has shared his thoughts on the future of Barcelona , the upcoming World Cup and some of the biggest names in world football.

Zenden has explained why Marcus Rashford is unlikely to be signed permanently by Barcelona , tipped Harry Kane as a dream Lewandowski replacement, and suggested Mikel Arteta could one day return to Camp Nou as manager.

The former Netherlands international has also assessed his country's World Cup chances, discussed Memphis Depay 's surprise form in Brazil , and given his verdict on Ricardo Pepi , Robin Roefs and Middlesbrough 's playoff push.

Barcelona

Should Rashford Be Bought Permanently?

I don't think Barcelona will sign Marcus Rashford , probably for two reasons. Firstly, 30 million pounds, while maybe not a lot in the UK for a player like Rashford , is quite a sum for Barcelona . Don't forget, it's not just the 30 million; there are substantial wages involved as well. I believe it's currently a loan deal, which lessens the costs. Secondly, he's clearly not a starter, week in, week out. So, do they want to spend that amount of money, or would they choose to bring in a young player, maybe someone from Spain , from the Cantera, the youth ranks, a younger player they can still potentially earn money on? I would be surprised if they signed him permanently.

I think the route back to Manchester United would probably be a great one for him, especially with a new manager, new rules, and new opportunities. If they have a good relationship and if Carrick thinks Rashford can be his number one choice, then absolutely. Other than that, I think, as a player, you should always go somewhere where you're appreciated and where you can play the most minutes. For bigger players, you shouldn't be focused on money, because I think anywhere you go, the money will be satisfactory. That's not; I don't think that will be the deciding factor.

Could Kane Replace Lewandowski?

Harry Kane to Barcelona would be amazing, but I don't think it's possible. There's also been talk about Julian Alvarez . That would also be quite some money to be spent, but he's quite a bit younger than Harry Kane , I think. It sounds funny, but I'm quite pleased for Harry Kane how it's going this season because, you know, when he moved from Tottenham , where he never won anything except all the Golden Boot trophies, he moved to Munich , and it seemed like he wasn't going to win anything there either.

But the way they've been playing the last year and this year, it's just a pleasure to watch. And if you look at how clinical he is in his finishing, it's just crazy. When I think about how Paris Saint-Germain play, when you have the likes of Ousmane Dembele , who does get in quite some situations where he can score goals, he still, at times, needs one or two many chances to score. But as soon as Harry Kane gets a chance, it's just so lethal. He's composed, and he's calm, and he shoots not at 100% but at 80%. He just picks a corner, and it's in. It's crazy. Definitely, Robert Lewandowski will be hard to replace. But if you look at a player like Kane , yeah, of course, that would probably be a dream.

Could Arteta Replace Flick?

I don't think Mikel Arteta to Barcelona is something for the short term. Is he doing well at Arsenal ? Yes, an amazing job. I've previously said that when he took over, I think they had two horrible seasons. They finished around 8th in the league and were out of Europe . There was a lot of negativity around his job, but they stuck with it. They stuck with it, and they gave him the time to develop and work on the team. For the last three years, they've been battling at the top. They weren't capable of getting it over the line, and with the result on the weekend from Man City , it gives them another chance. I think it's three games to win, and they've done the job.

Will it happen? I'm not going to put my money on it just yet because City is always there. And if you look at the Premier League , anything is possible. Also at the bottom, with West Ham and Spurs , they both still have difficult games to come. So nothing has been decided yet. That's interesting; it's nice for the league. But in the future, yeah, I think Arteta would be a possible target for Barcelona to coach, of course. But don't forget there's someone else at Como at the moment, Cesc Fabregas , who's also done an amazing job over the last three years with Como .

They had bad luck on the weekend where they didn't win, and that will maybe put them just out of Champions League football. But going from the third division in Italy to getting a Champions League spot, that's amazing. So Fabregas would also be a target, I think, for Barca with his links and his past. The Chelsea job? Yeah, well, that's the same with Xabi Alonso . Did you want to burn your fingers? I'm not sure.

World Cup

The Netherlands

My main concern is, well, two concerns. One is we're not sure who the number one striker will be. Is it a positive or a negative for people to decide? I think if you have a striker up front that you know is going to give you eight goals, that will do well, that will be your number one. There's not going to be a discussion. The discussion will be, is it going to be Depay , is it going to be Malen , who has done amazingly at Roma since his move from Villa ? I think he has scored eight goals in 11 games now.

Could he be the number one starter? Or does maybe a player like Brian Brobbey moves his way in? So that's one concern. On the other end, if you look at the back, I think Van Dijk will have to step it up a bit in the summer if we want to do well. He might be playing with Van de Ven next to him. There's another one at Brighton , van Hecke, in contention to start. So there are quite a few choices. We might actually play with five at the back. Then you have the likes of Dumfries on the right or Frimpong .

On the left, we could play with Van de Ven . So it's an interesting choice to see. But if you look at the target, you obviously have to go through the group stages. I think the Dutch are a bit unlucky because they could actually face Brazil or Argentina very soon, so that's why I'm a bit concerned. If they get to a semi-final, I think that would be amazing.

Depay’s Form

I think everybody thought that when Memphis made a choice to go to Brazil that he would be out of contention for the national team, but he's still very much in contention. He's scoring quite a bit and being important for the team. He also picked up a few injuries, but if the tournament comes along, I'm sure that he'll be fit again and ready to play. You might think he's like 35 already, but I think he's only 32.

So there's still quite a bit in the tank. And so yeah, the discussion in Holland obviously will be: is he fit enough and ready to fire for the national team and be number one choice? Or do we have to look a bit differently and see if Donyell Malen would be the number one choice?

Papi’s Form

I think Ricardo Pepi is a great striker. He's been unlucky, where he was back fit and scoring goals, and then even while scoring a goal, he fell on his arm and broke it. It's crazy, but he's back now, and he's scoring again. He's definitely a player that can do well for the US in the summer. There will be some expectations on him as well. But he has, the way we say it, he has a nose for the goal.

He's always in the right position, scoring quite easy, and a good header in there. It's an interesting player. I know why Fulham ; I understand why Fulham wants to sign him.

English Football

Keeping Roefs At Sunderland?

I think Sunderland started the season flying; they were really off the charts. I already had a few questions asked about Sunderland being in the top half, maybe Europe , and I said, whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down, calm down. I think if they get into the top half of the table, 10th position, that would be amazing. You see where they're hanging about now; I think they'll end up being 13th or something around there.

Even then, it's still a great season. You know, when you come up, the most important thing is to gather, I think, 40 points, make sure that you're safe, and then build from there. I think that's the case for Sunderland as well: to make sure that you can keep hold of the players and maybe attract some more players, you know, quality players, to do even better next season.

That will be the target. Robin Roefs , he's made a name for himself this season, but also, it's not been a five-star performance every weekend. If an opportunity comes along, then you might understand that he tries to get another move. But the job is for Sunderland to try and see and keep everybody there and add to that.

Playoffs For Middlesbrough

The playoff semi-finals are two legs, and the best team is usually the one that progresses, whereas in a one-off final, anything can happen. We'll have to wait and see. I know Middlesbrough didn't win at Wrexham on the weekend. Wrexham needed that win to get into the playoffs themselves. Imagine Wrexham making the playoffs; it's a bit like Como , achieving promotion after promotion and then almost doing something incredible.

Both teams would have benefited from a win, but neither got it. For Middlesbrough , the result didn't change much because they would have played Southampton in the semi-final regardless. Anything is possible, and they could still reach the final, but it's always a pity when you've done so well, are playing for the second spot, and then miss out in the end. That can affect squad morale, but they have to pull themselves together and focus on the two, possibly three, games coming up that will decide the future of many players, managers, and backroom staff. It's going to be massive.

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