Ronald Koeman’s cycle at Barcelona slowly pushes to the end, fans have a varied range of opinions on who should be the new coach at the helm. However, there are a few names that have reached a nearly-unanimous verdict. One of them is Ajax manager Erik ten Hag.
To their delight, according to El Nacional, Barcelona have reached an agreement in principle with ten Hag to become the new coach of the team in June 2022. And with his arrival come some demands for the squad.
The Dutchman has requested the signings of five players. Namely, Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus, Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax, Donny van de Beek from Manchester United, Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig, and much like several top clubs around the world, Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund
Furthermore, ten Hag has also requested some much-needed exits. This list starts with Samuel Umtiti, who has been riddled with injuries. Further, it includes forwards Luuk de Jong and Martin Braithwaite, Barcelona’s costliest player ever Philippe Coutinho, and an out-of-form and out-of-favour Clement Lenglet.
Next season could also see the exits of Jordi Alba, Sergio Busuquets, and Sergi Roberto, who are on high salaries, and must depart to make way for new signings.
It goes unsaid that making all those signings will be far from possible in one transfer window. Haaland and de Ligt alone could cost the team nearly €200 million, while United would make it incredibly tough for Barcelona to acquire van de Beek.
That being said, the idea of bringing in Erik ten Hag to a fresher team, and the possibility of watching some incredibly attractive football does make one’s mouth water, doesn’t it?
