Barcelona attentive to 41-year-old Spanish coach impressing in the Premier League

Barcelona find themselves in a tricky situation heading into the summer with regard to their managerial position.

Xavi Hernandez has announced that he will leave once the season is over and has showed no indication that his decision will change, even though the club administration, led by Joan Laporta, is eager to convince him to stay.

A number of possible replacement options have been linked, such as Hansi Flick, Thomas Tuchel, Roberto De Zerbi, and Julian Nagelsmann, but none of them generates total consensus at the club.

Amidst all this, a new name has been added to Barcelona’s agenda as a prospective candidate to replace Xavi in the summer.

Barcelona tracking Andoni Iraola

Indeed, as per SPORT, Barcelona are attentive to the situation of AFC Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola heading into the summer.

Iraola, 41, a former Athletic Club footballer, has been in management for six years now, having started out at AEK Larnaca in Cyprus, before coaching CD Mirandes in the Spanish lower decision for a year.

Iraola then spent three years as the manager of Rayo Vallecano between 2020 and 2023, where his work earned recognition, leading to a move to Bournemouth last summer.

Andoni Iraola on Barcelona’s agenda. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Upon arrival, many predicted Iraola’s Cherries to get relegated from the Premier League, but the 41-year-old has done a solid job in England thus far and is earning rave reviews for his work.

Iraola’s Bournemouth are currently 11th in the Premier League, ahead of Chelsea, and just seven points shy of sixth-placed Manchester United and four behind West Ham United in seventh.

As such, a possible European football spot could be on the cards for Bournemouth if they finish the season strongly.

Iraola’s work not going unnoticed

Not only with the team’s position, but the work that Iraola has done can also be gauged by the improvement shown by some of his players, such as Dominic Solanke.

The striker is enjoying his best-ever campaign in the Premier League with 16 goals and is the joint second-highest scorer along with Mohamed Salah and Ollie Watkins.

A number of top clubs across Europe have taken note of Iraola and Barcelona are also understood to be keeping tabs on the 41-year-old.

For now, though, Laporta & co. remain intent on convincing Xavi to stay put.