Pochettino in the frame as Barcelona sack hangs over Valverde

Mauricio Pochettino TEAMtalk

Barcelona could axe coach sack Ernesto Valverde on Monday with Mauricio Pochettino now believed to be in pole position to replace him.

Both Sport and El Mundo Deportivo report that there is a planned meeting of the club’s hierarchy on Monday and Valverde could see his two-and-a-half-year stay end.

Barca’s semi-final exit in the Supercopa de Espana against Atletico Madrid last week, appears to have been the straw to break the camel’s back.

Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu is set to meet Valverde today in another crunch meeting after talking with the club’s CEO Oscar Grau, sporting director Eric Abidal, his assistant Ramon Planes and Javier Bordas.

Abidal and Grau are believed to have just returned from Qatar, where they unsuccessfully tried to get former Barca star Xavi to take the Camp Nou reins.

Apparently though Xavi, who is in charge of Al Sadd, said he would not take over in the middle of a season

Instead, according to RAC1, former Spurs boss Pochettino is now being considered by the Spanish champions as a possible appointment despite the Argentine’s close links with neighbours Espanyol.

 

 

Pochettino, who was sacked by Tottenham last month, has worked with Planes at both Espanyol and Tottenham and he could link up with him for a third time.

The 47-year-old though said last year that he would “never train Barcelona or Arsenal because I am tied to Tottenham. I grew up at Newell’s and I would never train Rosario Central. I would prefer to work on my farm in Argentina than to go and work in certain places”.

He did though, before Christmas, seem to go back on that statement by claiming he was “open” to offers.

Pochettino said: “When I say I am open, I am open. I cannot say that I am open but I’m closed to someone.

“It’s different if you receive an approach and you listen and say yes or no. That’s different.

“But you can’t say that I’m open but on that I am not open. You are open and then you are open. Anything can happen.

“When I say I am open, I am open to listen to any club.”