Barcelona reportedly have four options in mind to replace Ernesto Valverde, although Roberto Martinez has emerged as the favourite for the job.
The Catalan giants successfully defended their La Liga crown this past season, but they crashed out of the Champions League in hugely disappointing fashion for a second consecutive year after capitulating at Liverpool.
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Further, they suffered defeat in the Copa del Rey final to Valencia this past weekend, and so question marks have seemingly been raised over Valverde moving forward as those defeats in particular haven’t reflected well on him.
According to Mundo Deportivo, four names have emerged as possible successors should Barcelona choose to make a change, with Ronald Koeman, Massimiliano Allegri, Roberto Martinez and Unai Emery paired with the position at the Nou Camp.
Of those four, Koeman and Martinez would arguably be the best fit given the Dutchman’s history with the club, while Martinez’s preferred style of play would perhaps make him a welcome appointment for the Barcelona fans given his desire to play a more attacking brand of football.
Nevertheless, Allegri has a proven track record of winning during his spells with AC Milan and Juventus, while Emery has experience in La Liga and has continued his good work at Arsenal this season as they prepare for the Europa League final on Wednesday night.
However, as per RAC1, it’s been reported that Martinez has emerged as the top choice if a change is made at the Nou Camp, with his preference for attacking football standing him in good stead to land one of the biggest jobs in world football.
Time will tell though if he can be prised away from his current job with the Belgian national team, while similarly Koeman has impressed at the helm for the Netherlands and so it could be difficult to reach a deal.
Regardless, after the two big disappointments this season in the cup competitions coupled with the constant criticism that Valverde seems to face over Barcelona’s playing style under his stewardship, it would perhaps come as no surprise if the club hierarchy did opt to make a change this summer.
