Barcelona to sack Ronald Koeman, Harry Kane tells Tottenham Hotspur he wants to leave

Barcelona are exploring replacements for Ronald Koeman, but president Joan Laporta doesn't want to sack the Dutch coach without having a successor in place while England captain Harry Kane has expressed his desire to leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

Barca had the destiny of the La Liga title in their own hands before facing Granada on April 29, but one win in five games has seen them lose ground on Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid with one game to go.

Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Camp Nou against Celta Vigo officially ended the Catalan club's hopes of winning the league and increased the doubts surrounding Koeman's future.

However, Koeman, who led Barca to Copa del Rey success earlier this season, still has one year left on his contract but sources said he could still fulfil his deal if none of the alternatives convince.

The same sources said Barca are keen to avoid a repeat of what happened after Ernesto Valverde was sacked in 2020 without a substitute lined up.

Quique Setien ended up replacing Valverde after the Blaugrana failed to persuade Koeman, Xavi Hernandez, Mauricio Pochettino or Erik ten Hag to take on the job.

In addition to wanting to find a replacement before acting, with the club's gross debt standing at almost €1.2 billion, Laporta must also consider the financial consequences of firing Koeman with time to run on his contract.

Xavi, who arrived back in Barcelona on Monday following the end of the season in Qatar, where he is the coach of Al-Sadd, is the most logical option to replace Koeman.

In another news, England captain Harry Kane is reportedly on the hunt for a new club after repeating his wish to leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer. 

The report by Sky Sports suggests that the 27-year-old Premier League top-scorer has been approached by Manchester United, Manchester City, Paris Saint Germain and Chelsea.

Spurs remain intent on keeping their star striker, butKane who currently tops both the Premier League’s goalscoring and assist charts for this season is said to have grown dissatisfied with Tottenham’s progress, with the club set to miss out on Champions League football for the second successive season.

 

Spurs are without a permanent manager following the sacking of Jose Mourinho last month, with Kane’s former team-mate Ryan Mason taking interim charge as the club’s board search for a long-term appointment.

 

The latest report is not the first time Kane has been linked with a move away from Spurs, with The Athletic reporting last month that the striker had told his club that he wants to leave.

 

And, after being crowned Premier League Player of the Year at the London Football Awards last month, Kane also revealed his frustration at not winning major trophies with Spurs.

 

"When I look back at the end of my career, these (individual honours) are all the things I'll go over and take in a little bit more, but the goal right now as a player is to win team trophies," Kane said. 

As much as this is great, I want to be winning the biggest team prizes.

"We're not quite doing that. It's bittersweet, but it is what it is.”

 

Kane is currently seventh on the all-time Premier League goalscorers list on 165 goals, having recently overtaken Jermain Defoe and Robbie Fowler. And the England striker’s preference would be to remain in the Premier League if he were to leave Spurs.