Ronald Koeman is increasingly popular within the Barcelona club management, writes Sport Saturday morning. A few months ago it was highly uncertain whether the trainer would stay on, but now he has completely convinced chairman Joan Laporta in addition to the technical secretariat. Confidence in Koeman has been expressed in recent weeks in involving the coach in Barcelona’s transfer policy. A new contract offer looks imminent for the coach.
After last season, in which Barcelona finished in a disappointing third place in LaLiga and already stranded in the eighth finals in the Champions League, doubts arose about Koeman’s position. In a ‘period of reflection’, all possible options were discussed, according to the newspaper. Laporta was eventually convinced by vice president Rafa Yuste, director of football affairs Mateu Alemany and technical director Ramón Planes not to fire Koeman. Yuste saw Koeman as a suitable trainer, partly because the Dutchman wanted to take up the challenge in the knowledge that major purchases would not be forthcoming and he believes in incorporating self-trained talents from La Masia.
Since then, Koeman has worked closely with Yuste, Alemany and Planes. Sport speaks of ‘perfect harmony’ between the foursome. Koeman was kept informed of all developments regarding transfers during the transfer window and was allowed to make a final judgment about the arrival of players. Barcelona brought in Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Eric García on a free transfer and are hiring both Luuk de Jong and Yusuf Demir this season. Lionel Messi, Jean-Clair Tobido, Antoine Griezmann, Junior Firpo, Miralem Pjanis and Emerson Royal, among others, have left. The Barcelona board is pleased to see how Koeman has reacted to the departures of several players and praises his positive attitude.
Of course, performance in LaLiga also plays an important role. Barcelona took seven points from their first three games and have a new star in their hands with Depay, bringing some optimism back to the Camp Nou after the turbulent past months. According to Sport enjoy it Koeman total confianna, or the complete confidence of the club management. Barcelona understands that sporting expectations cannot be set too high after Messi’s departure and the lack of major signings, but are confident that the players can develop and young players can flourish. If the performances remain satisfactory, Koeman can look forward to a new contract offer. The current contract of the former national team coach of the Dutch expires after this season.