Barcelona officially announced that Luis Enrique would be leaving the club at the end of the season, and so the search is on for his successor.
The 46-year-od made the statement after his side’s win over Sporting Gijon on Wednesday night, and the process of finding the next manager will be an important and difficult one for the Catalan giants.
Nevertheless, the bookmakers have had their say early on with Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli getting the nod as the early favourite for the post, as per Sky Bet, via Sky Sports.
The market doesn’t make for good reading for Everton fans though as Ronald Koeman is the second favourite with Sky Bet as he could potentially secure a return to the club that he played for and enjoyed a successful period with.
Joining him at 6/1 is Arsene Wenger, and that could well be a shock to many but ultimately it’s just another indication of how highly thought-of the French tactician is on the European scene despite his woes at the Emirates in recent years.
Coupled with the fact that there is uncertainty over his future at Arsenal given his current contract expires at the end of the season and he has yet to pen an extension, it could be the easiest solution in that sense that he will be a free agent to move on and take the job.
In contrast, Mauricio Pochettino is expected to have a long and successful tenure ahead of him at Tottenham, but the Argentine boss is at 10/1 to take charge at the Nou Camp next season, although many will look at his Espanyol ties and pour cold water over that claim.
Other names in the running according to Sky Bet include Ernesto Valverde, while Diego Simeone and Frank de Boer are long shots along with current Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola with that trio seeming pretty unlikely to make the switch.