Guillem Balague has had his say on the coaching situation at Barcelona, and has picked the tactician he believes would be perfect for the job.
Current Barca boss Luis Enrique is under severe pressure this week after his side’s heavy 4-0 defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
With his contract expiring at the end of the season and with other troubles brewing at the Nou Camp, it’s believed that he will be replaced in the summer.
Various names have been linked with the post, but Balague believes there is on stand-out candidate, and that’s Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli.
“Sampaoli is another situation – Juanma Lillo, his assistant, was key in the developing of Pep Guardiola as a coach, based especially on his ideas about the positional game,” he told Sky Sports.
“So Sampaoli would be a good choice. He is on their shortlist, but he is not the only one. He has a buyout clause of £1.35m, so if anyone wants him they will have to pay that. But I am pretty sure he is open to the idea of going to Barcelona.”
Balague went on to insist that he would be a popular choice with the players too, and so provided that Barcelona can entice him away from their La Liga rivals, he could be the next man to step into the role and help them ‘recover’.
Enrique has enjoyed an excellent spell in charge of the Spanish giants on the whole, but cracks with his squad and poor signings last summer have seemingly paved the way for his tenure to come to an end.
Whether Sampaoli will take on the challenge next remains to be seen, but following his work with Chile and Sevilla, coupled with Balague’s recommendation, it appears as though he is more and more likely to become the favourite to be Enrique’s successor.