Julen Lopetegui is on the brink of being sacked by Real Madrid. So who could replace him at the Santiago Bernabeu? Here are the options…

Real Madrid are currently four games without a win in La Liga ahead of Sunday's Clasico, and if things don't turn around quickly Florentino Perez may be back in the market for a new manager. Here are a few names he may consider in his search…Getty1Leonardo Jardim

It is rare for a manager to be sacked and then land a better job but that may be what happens with Leonardo Jardim. The Portuguese was dismissed by Monaco after a poor start to the season, but his achievements with the Monte Carlo-based club cannot be forgotten.

He won the 2016-17 Ligue 1 title – while also reaching the Champions League semi-finals – developing a host of brilliant players such as Kylian Mbappe, Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy.

His Monaco team was built around young talent and that could be beneficial to Real Madrid. Jesus Vallejo, Martin Odegaard and Vinicius Junior are all primed to make their mark on La Liga over the next few years and there may be no better manager to unlock their potential.

With Real Madrid being one of the biggest and richest clubs in the world, Jardim would be free of worry about his key players being poached by bigger clubs.

AdvertisementGetty Images2Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta very nearly became Arsenal manager this summer and a move back to his home country may be in the works before long. Arteta has spent the last few years learning from Pep Guardiola at Man City and if he has picked anything up from him he could become an incredible manager one day.

A move to Real Madrid would be going straight in at the deep end but Madrid do have a history of appointing inexperienced coaches such as Zinedine Zidane.

As a student of Pep Guardiola, Arteta would likely promote an attacking possession-based style which would please Madrid's very demanding fans. One sticking point, though, could be Arteta's history as a player with Barcelona.

getty3Guti

Appointing Guti as the Real Madrid manager would be a huge risk but it may well pay off. Zinedine Zidane was also a coach within the Madrid system before he got the senior job and Guti has plenty of experience in that field.

The 41-year-old coached youth teams for five years before making the move to become the assistant manager of Besiktas this year.

Guti managed Real Madrid's youth side Juvenil A for two years where he was incredibly successful, winning the domestic treble during his first season.

Like Fernando Hierro, Guti is a Real Madrid legend which counts for a lot in terms of respect from fans and players.

Getty Images4Mauricio Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino has consistently been linked to the biggest jobs in the world over recent seasons and for good reason. The Argentine has transformed Spurs into one of the best and most attractive teams in England, all while on a shoestring budget.

The lack of investment at Spurs will surely frustrate the Argentine and at Madrid he would have a huge amount to spend. The obvious move to make would be for his star man in north London, Harry Kane. Madrid have struggled to replace Cristiano Ronaldo's goals and if Pochettino came in that would be an added incentive for the World Cup Golden Boot winner to make the move away from Tottenham.

The Spurs boss has made it no secret that he would be interested in taking the job, telling the Spanish newspaper “When Real Madrid call you, you have to listen to them."