Sources: Barcelona president asks Koeman for ‘15 more days’ before making final decision

This week has been characterised by complete uncertainty over whether or not Ronald Koeman will continue as Barcelona coach next season, and the suspense is being sustained according to a report by Radio Catalunya, based on which president Laporta has asked the manager for 15 days to hold negotiations, and if nothing feasible is found, Koeman will continue for another season.

The Dutchman has had a far from ideal start to his tenure at Camp Nou, and the embarrassing manner with which the Catalans failed to capitalise on the league title, as well as Koeman’s worrying record against top-flight teams, has created massive doubts as to whether he will continue as Barcelona coach.

Koeman was never Laporta’s first choice as manager, with the president expressing great fondness of now Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann. In either case, the president assumed responsibility of the club just when they had found a good run of league form, and replacing Koeman at the time would only seem counterproductive.

Despite the Copa del Rey trophy, Barcelona’s end to the season has been abysmal, leading to reliable suggestions that the Dutchman would be relieved of his duties.

The consensus within leadership at Camp Nou clearly does not consider the former player to be the man to lead Joan Laporta’s new sporting project, but the market for managers is, for the time being, highly saturated.

The three most likely names only a few weeks ago, Xavi, Pimienta, and Erik ten Hag, are all seemingly ruled out, with the former 2 considered far too inexperienced at the moment and the latter having just signed an extension with Ajax.

There were numerous links between former Bayern manager Hansi Flick and the coaching job at Barcelona, despite the German looking towards the German National Team as his next destination.

Although president Laporta did reportedly hold video calls with the manager, his future was never in doubt, and as reported by the ever reliable Fabrizio Romano, the 56-year-old will coach the national team after the EUROS.

The strongest link, however, has been Xavi. The club legend is ‘on holiday’ at Barcelona, although it was assumed that there would be discussions over a potential managing job at his former club. That said, the links have since been ruled out, and the Spaniard is not, for the moment, the man for the job.

That said, Laporta is still looking for options. According to the report, he has asked Koeman for 15 days to look for and hold negotiations with other managers, and if nothing comes to fruition in the two weeks, the Dutchman will continue as Barcelona manager for another season.

While other names have been thrown around, such as Mikel Arteta, the truth does remain: there is a significant shortage in the supply of managers right now. This may mean that leadership at the club is left with no choice but to give Ronald Koeman another season at his former team, which seems to have been recognised by the likes of Mateu Alemany and Ramon Planes, who are both in favour of his continuity.

Indeed, even the Dutchman’s agent is of the view that he will continue as manager, and was quoted saying: “The feeling is positive, in fact it’s so good that Ronald may even continue beyond when his contract ends. More conversations will follow.”

At the moment, nothing is known as to whether or not Koeman will continue at the club, but it appears that his future will be known very, very soon.