Barcelona hold 'very positive' initial talks with number one target to replace Xavi

Barcelona have held 'very positive' talks with their number one candidate to replace Xavi as manager next season, according to a new report.

The legendary Barcelona midfielder has already announced he will be resigning from his role upon the conclusion of the 2023/24 campaign.

Barca won La Liga last season, but are eight points off Real Madrid with 13 games to play this term and suffered a shock 4-2 defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey in January.

And it was shortly after a subsequent 5-3 home defeat to Villarreal in La Liga that month that Xavi announced he would no longer manage the team following this season.

A number of high-profile names have been linked with the role, including Brighton's Roberto De Zerbi, Jose Mourinho and Bayern Munich's Thomas Tuchel, who will also be leaving his position at the end of the campaign.

But the current favourite for the role, according to reports, is Hansi Flick, who has been out of management since leaving the Germany national team in September, following a disappointing group stage exit at the 2022 World Cup.

And journalist Adrian Sanchez claims that talks between Barca and Flick, who won the Champions League with Bayern in 2020, have been 'extremely positive'.

It is added that Les Cules view the German as a strong candidate because 'he has not shown any doubts about the team'.

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Prior to taking up the manager role at Bayern, Flick served as assistant under Niko Kovac at the beginning of the 2019/20 season.

He also spent eight years as assistant manager to Joachim Low at the Germany national team between 2006 and 2014. However, the 59-year-old couldn't replicate Low's success when taking sole charge of the team.

He also spent a five-year spell as manager of Hoffenheim, and short periods as assistant to Giovanni Trapattoni and Lothar Matthaus.