The win in the El Classico has opened up the La Liga title race and Barcelona are in with a healthy shot to lift their third consecutive title this season. But the Catalan giants are set to lose their talismanic manager Luis Enrique at the end of the season.
The Spanish side were knocked out of the Champions League by Juventus recently and though Enrique has been effective in his two previous years at the club, he has already decided to quit the Camp Nou this summer. Barcelona are already in search of a new manager who can take up these duties at the club and the latest name linked with a move to Spain is Everton manager Ronald Koeman.
The Dutch manager was a part of the Barcelona squad till 1995 and won 10 major honours in his time at the Camp Nou. He helped Premier League club Southampton to their best ever finish in the previous season and has laid a foundation at the St Marys that Paul Clement is currently working on.
He is a smart manager who has worked with several clubs already and though he has not helped Everton closer to a place in the Champions League next season, he is one of the many managers that Barcelona are looking to tempt this summer.
Real Sociedad’s Eusebio Sacristan, RB Salzburg’s Óscar García Junyent, Jorge Sampaoli of Sevilla and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp are also in the frame for the role but Koeman represents one of the best options for Barcelona this summer.
Having already worked at the Camp Nou, Koeman should not take any time to settle into the hot seat and even if he is not successful in his first season, he is more than capable of building up his club and will surely make Barcelona the best again.
He is a manager who loves to set up his team to the strengths of one or two players, like Romelu Lukaku at Everton and this will help Barcelona and Lionel Messi himself. Even in the current season, Barcelona play a brand of football where most of the game goes through Lionel Messi. So Koeman’s methods will not be too different from what they have been using this season
Luis Enrique won the treble in his first season and though he missed out on the Champions League last season, he still won both the domestic competitions with Barcelona. He has been prolific in his time at the Camp Nou and Koeman will find it hard to replicate this next season.
However, with the likes of Luis Suarez and Neymar Jr also in his ranks, Koeman can surely take Barcelona to new heights. Though it is reported that his release clause is too high for Barcelona, he is probably the best option available in the transfer market for Barcelona this summer.
