Xavi Hernandez gaining strength at Barcelona

Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez is now one of the leading contenders to take over for Ronald Koeman should the Dutchman be relieved of his duties.

According to Mundo Deportivo, the option of Xavi becoming the next manager has suddenly become more of a reality despite initial doubts.

Those doubts came from Barcelona president Joan Laporta who considers Xavi still too inexperienced to take over the first team. He wants, or wanted, the club legend to go through Barça B first.

Barcelona have narrowed their list of alternatives down to two

Xavi is one of two options for the club with Belgium manager Roberto Martinez being the other. The majority of the board seem to back Xavi but Laporta, alongside Jordi Cruyff, are backing Martinez.

The problem with going after Martinez is the Nations League is coming up and the World Cup is set to take place in a little over a year. The questions is whether or not Belgium would want to let their manager leave so close to two major international tournaments.

Cruyff himself was reportedly offered the opportunity to take over following the draw against Granada but refused.

Becoming the next Barcelona manager has been Xavi’s dream since he left to Qatar and took over the role at Al Saad. Again, despite initial doubts by Laporte, he is now more open to the possibility of Xavi taking over.

There were some reports that Xavi had told the club he did not want the job but those claims have since been refuted.

The only certainty in this situation is Koeman is living his final days as Barcelona manager. He was given three matches to try to turn things around and so far hasn’t done so. He drew against Granada at home and at Cadiz away with the team struggling to create goal scoring opportunities.

A far cry from the Barcelona of old.

Koeman will be in charge for the match against Levante. Though he won’t be on the bench after picking up a red card against Cadiz.

Laporta asked the supporters to be calm and assured them they know what must be done. While hiring Xavi may be seen as a risk, the upside is, unlike with Martinez, the supporters are going to be patient with Xavi should he be named the next Barcelona manager.