Ronald Koeman reported to be on his way out of Barcelona

RONALD KOEMAN is reportedly not going to continue as coach of Catalan giants Barcelona after a run of poor results

After a run of very poor results, it is no surprise that 58-year-old Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman was being strongly tipped as one of the first managerial casualties of a season that is only a few weeks old, as the club languishes in seventh spot in LaLiga after four games, with the latest reports claiming that he is not going to continue, but must wait until the club locates and names his replacement.

A home defeat in the Champions League against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich last week was probably the starting point, but then an awful home performance last night, Monday, September 20, against Granada CF, in which the Blaugrana were spared their blushes by a 90th-minute equaliser at the Camp Nou.

Big names are being touted around, as would be expected with a club of this stature, but one can not help but wonder which top coach would actually want to take such a position with a club that is clearly not in the best of condition, allegedly in debt by around €1.34billion (£1.15billion).

Two big candidates have to be the Italians, 42-year-old Andrea Pirlo, formerly with Juventus, and Antonio Conte, 52, who was with Inter last season, and led them to the Scudetto in Serie A, both of whom are currently available – at a price – with another name that is bound to enter the mix being that of club legend, Xavi, who is currently coaching Qatari club Al Sadd.

Another name hotly-tipped is current Belgium national team coach, Roberto Martinez, while former German national manager Joachim Low is another name currently out of work, who could be in the running to replace the Dutchman, according to Barcelona-based journalist Gerard Romero, as reported by thesun.co.uk.

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