Premier League champions Manchester City have identified their successor to the legendary Pep Guardiola, according to the information of one new report.
Uncertainty concerning the long-term future of the 53-year-old is beginning to intensify following the conclusion of the most-recent campaign, with Guardiola entering into his final season as Manchester City manager on current contractual terms.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich head coach has cut a relaxed figure when quizzed on the subject of his Etihad contract during recent press conferences, and the club themselves have shared that stance when discussing the matter in public.
Speaking during his annual end-of-season interview with Manchester City’s official in-house media department, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak reiterated that sense of calmness in relation to Guardiola’s future.
“Pep has always been fully committed to this club, fully committed to every contract that he has signed with us,” Al Mubarak explained. “This decision on his future is always a decision that we will take together, and I have no doubt that we will find, as always, we have done, the right solution that works for Pep and works for us.”
And now it appears as though Manchester City may have already found their solution to the debate over who should succeed Guardiola in the Etihad Stadium dugout, if a new report is to be believed and ultimately come to fruition.
According to the information of FootballTransfers’ Steve Kay, Manchester City are now ‘poised to make a move’ for Bayer Leverkusen’s current head coach Xabi Alonso, should Pep Guardiola opt to leave the Etihad Stadium upon the expiry of his current contract in the summer of 2025.
The report quotes ‘a source close to the club’ who has revealed that Xabi Alonso is currently the ‘only candidate’ that Manchester City are “seriously considering” to replace Guardiola as Etihad head coach.
It is claimed that the City hierarchy ‘unanimously agrees’ that the 42-year-old is the ‘ideal successor’ to Pep Guardiola, as they believe he can continue the legendary Catalan’s legacy at the club.
As for Pep Guardiola himself, and whether he would have some input in who should take over from his role at Manchester City, the master tactician has been very open in his praise for former Brighton & Hove Albion manager Roberto De Zerbi.
City are also known to have admired the work of current Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann for a number of years, while there has been somewhat emotional suggestions that former captain and now Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany could be a future target.
Pep Guardiola has continuously insisted that the Belgian football legend would become a future Manchester City manager, even despite his recent relegation from the Premier League with Burnley.
