Barcelona's recently appointed president Joan Laporta is reportedly an admirer of RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann.

Laporta was re-elected last week more than ten years after he left a post he held between 2003 and 2010. 

He inherits a club that has struggled for consistency this season and remain mired in speculation regarding Lionel Messi's future, while the jury is still out on whether Ronald Koeman is capable of steering the club in the right direction. 

The appointment of the 57-year-old was not a universally popular decision and the manner in which Barca's season has unfolded hasn't convinced his sternest critics. 

With that in mind, it's no surprise that Laporta's arrival has sparked speculation linking Nagelsmann with the Camp Nou hot seat. 

Nagelsmann is a managerial prodigy at just 33 years old but he's already led his Leipzig side to a Champions League semi-final and continues to push Hansi Flick's Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga title this season. 

And his achievements in the game have drawn interest from Laporta, according to Spanish media outlet El Larguero.

They claim that, while Laporta respects Koeman, he wouldn't have chosen him to manage the team.

There is a chance that the Dutchman will continue in his post but Laporta prefers other managers, which includes Nagelsmann. 

Information in the report is relatively sparse but there's enough to suggest that Koeman is facing an uphill battle to keep his job.

The contrasting fortunes of the Blaugrana and Leipzig could well determine his future. 

If Barca fail to catch Atletico Madrid and Leipzig manage to release Bayern's stranglehold and win the Bundesliga title, the writing may well be on the wall for Koeman. 

Few jobs in football carry the weight of appeal quite like the Barcelona job, so it's difficult to envisage Nagelsmann resisting Laporta's advances in the event that he actively seeks out a new manager. 

A period of upheaval may well lie on the Catalonian horizon.