DE ZERBI? BIG ANGE? ARTETA? WHO WILL REPLACE PEP GUARDIOLA AS MAN CITY MANAGER?

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool exit bombshell reminds us that nothing is forever. One day, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City reign shall also end once he grows sufficiently weary of winning all those trophies all the time.

Who knows, ennui may take him sooner than expected now he’s robbed of the prospect of further tussles with the man he calls his greatest rival. But while the timing remains unknown and unknowable, at some point in the future Manchester City will find themselves once again looking for a new manager. Who’s that going to be, then? According to the latest available odds, chances are it’s one of these lads.

 

10) Lionel Scaloni

The former West Ham defender and arguably more importantly World Cup-winning coach had appeared to indicate that he might quit the Argentina job after this summer’s Copa America, which would have elevated him to the forefront of plenty of these lists, but latest indications are that he is set to see out his contract until the 2026 World Cup which means this one becomes a question of timing. Pep Guardiola’s current contract runs until summer 2025. It’s not impossible that he signs an extension and then has a Kloppesque change of heart in 2026 but it remains likelier that the stars might not quite align for this one.

 

9) Michel

Such is the nature of the modern game that Knows The Football Club can now also be Knows The Football Group. Michel is currently steering Girona on one of the least likely title bids ever seen in La Liga and him being promoted from within the group rather than the more traditional boot-room promotion from within thus cannot be ruled out if this season turns out to be more than the flashiest of flashes in the pan.

 

8) Eddie Howe

Would need to at the very least establish Newcastle as perennial top-four botherers to be in with a shout, you’d think. And that still looks some way off at the moment.

 

7) Ange Postecoglou

Timing is everything here but this absolutely looks a goer if Guardiola’s City exit coincides with Postecoglou getting itchy feet at Spurs, which traditionally happens sometime around season three. Angeball with unlimited resources could be incredible. Every bit as dominant as Guardiola’s City, three times the fun, and eight thousand times the use of the word ‘mate’.

 

6) Julian Nagelsmann

Sh*tting the bed when you finally get the chance at a genuine superclub is not a great way to go about getting another shot so quickly. Currently attempting to restore and repair his reputation in international football which is no easy task. City manager one day? Yeah, we could see that. But Guardiola’s successor? Not so much.

 

5) Mikel Arteta

Long considered Guardiola’s apprentice, now turned worthy adversary at Arsenal. Might not tick the Knows The Club box quite so neatly as Vincent Kompany, but does have a bit more going on in the ol’ managerial CV. If City are to attempt an appointment with some connection to the club and the previous regime, then Arteta is a standout candidate. Were City to lure him from Arsenal, it would also boil enough p*ss in north London to power the content factories for months.

 

4) Zinedine Zidane

Still seems outlandish but the idea of Real Madrid specialist Zinedine Zidane rocking up in the Barclays at Manchester City feels vaguely less implausible than him turning up anywhere else in England. Certainly less daft than the idea of him putting himself through the Old Trafford wringer.

Would certainly fit City’s idea of themselves, while City now have the Guardiola-reinforced status that might appeal to the great man. And let’s not pretend that the idea of Real Madrid’s most successful player-turned-manager replacing Barcelona’s in the City hotseat wouldn’t be dripping in delicious narrative.

 

3) Xabi Alonso

This would be quite something, but here is a manager who almost certainly will end up at one of the giant clubs he represented as a player. The beauty of being a highly-rated young manager who played for Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid is that with Jurgen Klopp’s departure there is now the very real prospect or any and indeed all three of those highly appealing jobs to come available in any given summer.

 

2) Vincent Kompany

He’s the Knows The Club appointment, the Spoke Well, I Thought appointment, but he’s going to have to show a lot more Barclays smarts than we’ve seen thus far to confirm there’s more than City DNA in the appointment. Just nothing about City’s success over recent years to suggest the level of sentimentality that such an appointment would require.

 

1) Roberto De Zerbi

Is doing brilliant things with Brighton enough to get the most coveted manager’s job in the country? Replacing the best manager on earth? We’re not saying no, but City taking a punt on a manager with no big-club experience and whose success with Brighton still sees them a team capable of shipping four goals at Luton would be quite something. Still, the bad news for Brighton is that De Zerbi is currently favourite for this job, second favourite for Chelsea, second favourite for Liverpool, and fourth favourite for Man United.

2024-01-31T17:48:02Z dg43tfdfdgfd