Premier League duo Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea may go head to head for Luis Enrique but the former Barcelona boss is the ‘obvious replacement’ for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
So says Terry Gibson, the Spanish football expert who remembers Enrique’s treble-winning Barcelona side with a great deal of fondness.
And before you point out that the ex-Spain coach had three of world football’s finest attackers at his disposal – the Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Neymar ‘MSN’ frontline – you only need look at PSG to realise that there is no guarantee a coach will be able to successfully harness such obscene talent.
According to Fabrizio Romano and 90Min, Enrique has spoken to both Chelsea and Tottenham as he weighs up his next move. Gibson, however, believes a man who followed in Guardiola’s footsteps at the Camp Nou may do so again at the Etihad Stadium
Will Luis Enrique eventually replace Pep Guardiola at Man City?
“I have no evidence of this,” the former Man United and Spurs ace tells El Tel and Jon’s La Liga Weekly podcast. “But I am not sure Pep is going to be there next season. I have just seen signs that maybe he’s suffering from a little bit of burnout, which we saw at Barcelona.
“If Pep goes, there is an obvious replacement in Luis Enrique. He’s linked with Spurs, linked with Chelsea now.
“The reason I say Luis Enrique is because the same people Pep Guardiola knows at Man City, Luis Enrique knows. It’s the obvious replacement if Pep was to leave.”
As Gibson points out, many of the most important figures behind the scenes at City also had spells in Catalonia. Sporting director Txiki Begiristain, for instance.
Where next for the former Barcelona boss?
“If you are Luis Enrique, do you take another job in the Premier League which will probably scupper any chance you had of being manager of Manchester City, where you’ve got the most power in terms of spending money and a wonderful collection of players?,” Gibson asks.
“Say if he was to take the Spurs job and it doesn’t work out, he is not going to get the Man City job (after that).”
Enrique has made no secret of his desire to work in the Premier League. The one-time Real Madrid midfielder has been out of a job since Spain were sent packing from the Qatar World Cup by underdogs Morocco.
Vincent Kompany, another reportedly on Spurs’ shortlist, is likely to be another leading candidate once Guardiola bring the curtain down on his obscenely successful City spell.
Chelsea, meanwhile, confirmed on Thursday that Frank Lampard will take temporary charge until the summer. The Blues sacked Graham Potter last week.
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