Nottingham Forest loan star Philip Zinckernagel has told Forest Review (Hull Edition, page 9) that a Manchester United legend was his football icon.
Zinckernagel was quizzed for the matchday programme and he’s revealed that English football was clearly something he watched a lot of.
The loanee has named United and England hero David Beckham as the man he looked up to the most when he was a youngster.
Zinckernagel has been a breath of fresh air for the Reds. He has found the net four times and also claimed six assists since arriving on loan.
The Danish forward has relished the regular action and he’s proved an integral part of Steve Cooper’s team.
Zinckernagel helped Watford win promotion to the Premier League during 2020/21 but wasn’t in their plans for the new campaign.
That saw Forest pounce and they’ve signed a real gem; albeit a temporary one.
After starring against Swansea during a 4-1 win recently, Zinckernagel told the club’s media team of his love for Beckham.
He was a real hero for the Old Trafford-based club. Beckham lifted six Premier League titles and also won the Champions League.
The former England captain played 394 times for United and also 115 times for the national team.
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Forest should be having a conversation with Watford over signing the Dane on a permanent basis.
He’s arguably been the Reds’ signing of the season and he’s really shone during the 2021/22 campaign.
Of course, as with most Championship players, he has had a mini blip but recently he’s emerged from a fruitless spell.
It’s perhaps interesting that Zinckernagel loved Beckham as a youngster.
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Recently the Forest man said he wanted to score more goals but claimed he was happy with the number of assists he had.
Beckham was one of the finest crosses of a ball this country has ever seen and perhaps Zinckernagel was born to register assists.
Of course, the two aren’t in the same league. Zincekernagel, however, is proving just as important to Forest as Beckham was for United all those years ago.