Arsenal believe Barcelona connection has them in place to land Luis Enrique ahead of rivals Chelsea
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Arsenal believe they would have the edge over Chelsea if they become involved in a tug-of-war for Luis Enrique.
Enrique is on Chelsea’s shortlist while the former Barcelona boss is also on Arsenal’s radar as they look to succeed Arsene Wenger this summer.
But, crucially, Arsenal’s head of football relations Raul Sanllehi has a link with Enrique from their days working together at the Nou Camp. Sanllehi joined Arsenal in February having been director of football at Barcelona.
Enrique, 47, is the most likely option for Arsenal, especially if they decide to go for a big name appointment with Monaco’s Leonardo Jardim, Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers and Germany coach Joachim Loew the other alternatives.
Enrique’s wage demands are likely to be a sticking point as he would want around £15m-a-year which would be new territory for Arsenal but Sanllehi clearly believes it is a hurdle they can overcome.
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Arsenal may be tempted to go for a younger appointment with a head coach role to fit into the club’s new structure including Sanllehi and head of recruitment Sven Mislintat.
That would suit former Arsenal captain Mikel Arteta - now on Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City - while Hoffenheim boss Julian Nagelsmann is another name they are likely to want to speak to over the next few weeks.
Luis Enrique's history Played 558 games and scored 144 goals in a 15-year playing career at Sporting Gijon, Real Madrid and Barcelona. He won three Spanish league titles, three Spanish Cups and the European Cup winners Cup. He also played 62 times over 11 years for Spain, scoring 12 goals. Since turning to coaching 10 years ago, he has been in charge of Barcelona B, Roma and Celta Vigo before returning to the Nou Camp to take over the first XI four years ago. At Barca, he added two Spanish titles, three cups and the Champions League to his medal collection.
But it is still more likely that Arsenal will go for the bigger name option because it would be a huge gamble to move for the likes of Arteta.
Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira has not yet been discussed as a possible option.
Mirror Sport understands that Atletico Madrid Diego Simeone is not interested in either Arsenal or Chelsea and will stay in Spain for at least another year.
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Arsenal hope to have a new manager in place by the end of May but it is not anticipated to be a quick move.
Another big name on the move is Carlo Ancelotti.
The ex-Chelsea boss has been offered the job as Italy’s national manager and although he has yet to agree terms but is likely to take the role.
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That will have a knock-on effect for Chelsea who had anticipated boss Antonio Conte would be wanted by Italy and Paris St Germain.
Conte is also set to miss out on Paris Saint Germain with former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel set to get the job on a two year contract.
Conte is still expected to leave his £9million a year post at Stamford Bridge this summer after a disappointing season and a three man shortlist to replace him has Enrique alongside Napoli boss Maurizio Sarri and Juventus boss Max Allegri.