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Football

18th Aug 2020

Arsene Wenger ‘makes approach’ to Dutch FA to succeed Ronald Koeman

Wayne Farry

It would be Wenger’s first international job

Arsene Wenger has reportedly put the feelers out the Netherlands Football Association in relation to replacing Ronald Koeman, who is expected to take over at Barcelona later this week.

Koeman has been in charge of the Dutch national team since February 2018, and has overseen a relative period of success in which his team finished runners up in the 2019 UEFA Nations Cup.

He is widely expected to take over at Camp Nou after the sacking of Quique Setien, who was relieved of his duties following Barca’s 8-2 humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich over the weekend.

Wenger, who has been working as the head of global football development at FIFA since leaving Arsenal in 2018, has reportedly contacted the Dutch FA about replacing Koeman, according to reports in the Netherlands.

It would the 70-year-old’s first job since leaving the Emirates, and his first gig in international management.

Dutch football analyst Jan Joost van Gangelen was the first to put forward the report that Wenger is interested in the job. Should they prove to be accurate and he is in fact appointed, he would be the first non-Dutchman since Austrian Ernst Happel in 1978 to coach the national team.