Who could replace Tito Vilanova at Barcelona? Andre Villas-Boas, Jupp Heynckes, Rubi...

With Tito Vilanova looking set to leave Barcelona, who could the La Liga champions bring in to replace him?

Although Barcelona have a tradition of promoting within, they are a little shy on experience having had a number of their coaches plucked to Bayern Munich by former manager Pep Guardiola. This could force them to bring in another manager ahead of the new season.

We take a look at who Barcelona could either bring into the club or promote from the current coaching staff.

Andre Villas-Boas - The Tottenham manager has been installed as the early favourite by bookmakers. It would seem his disastrous short stint at Chelsea has truly been forgotten and instead people are beginning to respect his work at White Hart Lane and remember his spell at Porto. The Portuguese manager is understood to have turned down PSG earlier this summer - but refusing Barcelona may not be so easy.

Roberto Mancini – The former Manchester City manager would be among the top contenders should Barcelona look to hire from outside of the club. The high-profile manager has been out of work since being sacked by City two months ago, but he has been enjoying life away from football since. A move to Barcelona though would probably tempt Mancini back in to work – that is if Barcelona would want him.

Arsene Wenger – The current Arsenal manager has a good reputation in Spain, with club owners appreciating his managerial technique of bringing through youth. Wenger has recently admitted he wants to extend his contract with the Gunners though, and with the club showing a lot of faith to Wenger during what has been a tricky time, he will likely show the same faith that he has done to the club for so many years.

Jupp Heynckes – The former Bayern Munich manager left the club in 2013 having secured the treple, defeating Borussia Dortmund in the finals of the Champions League and the German Cup, as well as finishing 25 points clear of them in the Bundesliga. He was forced out of the club though by their desire to appoint Pep Guardiola as manager, and while they released a statement claiming Heynckes was retiring, he simply said he would not be managing a club in 2013/14. That said, he may be tempted to takeover at the Nou Camp in light of the position becoming available.

Juan Francesc Ferrer, ‘Rubi’ – The little-known Spanish coach managed Girona in La Segunda last season. He had joined Barcelona as an assistant coach to Tito Vilanova, but he has been mentioned as a potential candidate to replace him with Barcelona’s tendency to promote from within.

Jordi Roura – Roura took over the reins when Vilanova went to America for treatment as he recovered from cancer. He made 10 appearances for Barcelona during his playing days along with 65 appearances for Barcelona B. He dealt with everything that Vilanova couldn’t as he recovered, which included facing the press after each game meaning he had to deal with the 7-0 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich. Faced some criticism for his tactics during his spell in charge, but he kept them on the path to the La Liga title.