Real Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa could face the sack before the international break if the club’s poor form continues, according to reports.

Real Madrid?sacked Xabi Alonso in early January after they lost to arch-rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final, while there had been rumours that some players were unhappy with the Spaniard’s tactics and team selection.

Los Blancos immediately appointed Arbeloa as his successor but there is already speculation that the former defender won’t last past the end of the season.

Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery, Benfica’s Jose Mourinho and ex-Real Madrid midfielder Zinedine Zidane have all been linked with the job.

Real Madrid have lost two of their last three La Liga matches to drop four points behind Barcelona in the standings and they have a busy run of fixtures before the international break.

Reports in Spain are now claiming that Arbeloa ‘could be sacked before the international break’ with his image ‘severely damaged’ in recent weeks.

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His time as Real Madrid ‘hangs by a thread’ and ‘the coming weeks could prove decisive in determining whether he remains in charge of the team’.

The report adds: ‘The club’s confidence in Arbeloa has been waning in recent weeks. Although initially they opted for him to stay on to provide stability to the project, recent results have raised doubts within the board and among the team’s supporters.

‘The general feeling is that the manager’s margin for error has been reduced to a minimum. Real Madrid needs to react immediately if they want to keep their hopes alive in the competitions they are still playing in.’

Recent reports have claimed that former Liverpool boss Klopp had struck an ‘agreement’ to become Real Madrid boss but his agent denied that they are in talks with Los Blancos.

Reacting to reports of Klopp accepting an offer from Real Madrid, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insisted that there is “no agreement, no advanced talks” between the German and the Spanish club.

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Romano added on his YouTube channel: “There are some people internally at Real Madrid, at the highest level at Real really appreciating Jurgen Klopp, for his quality as a coach, his personality, his charisma.

“But that’s it. Real Madrid have no agreement, no advanced talks, nothing with Jurgen Klopp at the moment. It’s a very quiet situation as of today.”

Romano added:?“The reality is that as of now Klopp is not negotiating with any club.

“The first step – and remember this is valid for Real Madrid because at the moment with Atletico Madrid, there is nothing into it – but on Real and Klopp, what’s important to say is that if he has a chance to become Real’s manager, it has to be Klopp saying ‘okay, I’m ready to return to coaching’.

“Eventually [if that happens], Real Madrid could consider a move for Klopp. But remember that Klopp left a managerial role at Liverpool, decided to take some time and decided to start a completely different chapter by joining Red Bull group with a completely different role.

“So if Klopp says I’m ready to return to coaching, let’s see what’s going to happen with Real Madrid.”

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