Barcelona hope to announce Ronald Koeman as their new coach after Quique Setién was sacked after just half a season in the job.
The decision to turn to the Dutchman was taken during a three-hour board meeting at the Camp Nou on Monday morning, although a final agreement is yet to be closed. Setién meanwhile met with sporting director Eric Abidal in a city restaurant as the club looked to reach an agreement for his departure.
Koeman has a release clause that allows him to leave his post with the Netherlands national team for Barcelona. The club are optimistic they will be able to complete the signing and Koeman has made no secret of his ambition to take over at the Camp Nou, but he must decide if he wants to do so in unusual and far from ideal circumstances.
BBC reports that on Sunday night Spanish radio station Cadena COPE said they had spoken to Barcelona President Josep Bartomeu who told them Setien had been sacked. A board meeting is due to take place at 10:00 BST on Monday.
Spanish football expert Balague says former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has “been approached”, but ex-Barca player Koeman would be a more popular choice.
“The board will meet tomorrow and [Setien] will be sacked,” Balague told the BBC 5 Live Euro Leagues podcast. “They have to choose a manager because in two weeks time pre-season starts – and the talk is Koeman could be the man.
“He said no to an offer in January, but this is different. I think his health situation may have played a part. Discussions may be taking place, we may hear tomorrow, but he will need to separate from the national side so there is still a wait for that to happen.
“He is a name who will, more or less, make everybody happy.”
Former Everton and Southampton manager Koeman, 57, who was appointed as Netherlands manager in February 2018, was rushed to hospital in May with chest complaints but said afterwards he felt “fit as a fiddle”.
