The ongoing season has been more or less quite the disappointing one for FC Barcelona. In terms of silverware, the Catalan giants seem to be on course to have none by the end of the campaign. However, beyond just the problems on the field, Barcelona have to deal with other issues too.
The primary issue that continues to raise the alarm for urgent care is that of the head coach position. Xavi Hernandez has already declared his intentions to leave the club at the end of the season, and this rather abrupt announcement has left Barça scrambling to find a competent replacement.
According to AS, that competent replacement could end up being Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi. The report suggests that he now has the complete faith and trust of both Barcelona president Joan Laporta as well as Deco, the team’s Director. They consider him well-educated in terms of the ways and philosophies of positional play.
With Brighton, the Italian coach has helped the team reach new heights. Praised universally for his team’s usual ability to play out effectively and efficiently from the back, De Zerbi’s philosophies intertwine with those of Barcelona.
However, to get him to come over to Barcelona, there is a financial barrier. Contracted until 2026 to Brighton, Barcelona will need to pay up his €10 million release clause in order to get his services. The Catalan club wants to avoid paying this fee, and the coach’s agents are willing to help out with this.
In fact, they were meeting with some Barcelona representatives not too long ago. While the main objective of that conversation was to sort out the future of Ronald Araujo’s contract, it is reported that the possibility of De Zerbi coming over to Barcelona was also discussed.
At the moment, only two primary coaching options are left for serious evaluation. De Zerbi himself, and German coach Hansi Flick are the two favorites between who the club is deciding to finalize the man who ends up replacing Xavi for next season.