Manchester City are starting to line up potential replacements for Pep Guardiola, should the Catalan manager opt against extending his contract.
Guardiola's future at Manchester City is currently unclear. With his current deal set to expire next summer, Guardiola also admitted that "anything can happen" when discussing what he has planned for his career.
But while the England job is no longer available following the appointment of Thomas Tuchel, there's still potential Guardiola leaves Manchester City considering he will have spent nine terms at the club come the end of the campaign. With that in mind, the club has started succession planning - with one candidate having already agreed to work for incoming director of football Hugo Viana.
Manchester City create Pep Guardiola succession plan
Viana will join Manchester City in January 2025, ahead of officially replacing Txiki Begiristain as director of football next summer. Viana, who has worked as Sporting Libson's director of football since 2018, hired Ruben Amorim as manager in 2020, with the pair having enjoyed great success in the intervening years.
And, according to The Guardian, Manchester City are "strongly considering" hiring Amorim if Guardiola does decide to leave. The highly-rated manager has won two Primeira Liga titles in his four full seasons at Sporting, with his side having started the new campaign perfectly - they've won all eight of their league games so far, scoring 27 and conceding just twice.
The report adds that the Manchester City hierarchy believe the appointment of Amorim would help Viana settle into the club and make the move as seamless as possible. As well as currently working together at Sporting, the pair also played together at Braga during the 2012/13 season and for the Portugal national team.
Amorim has been on the radar of Premier League clubs for a number of seasons now, with Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United all reportedly interested in his services. But while Liverpool preferred Arne Slot last term, Amorim has been patient in waiting for a top job to become available - with Manchester City a real possibility.
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In FourFourTwo's view, it makes complete sense as to why the Premier League champions would want to hire a serial winner in Amorim. He's got a clear style of football and would signal a new era - potentially dynasty - at the club if Guardiola joins Begiristain in leaving next summer.
At 39, he's also very young and still has plenty of years to develop and grow into an even more established and revered manager - plus, it would be extremely difficult to turn Manchester City down.
