Girona gaffer Michel has been reported to be among the options Manchester City are considering if Pep Guardiola walks next year
Manchester City could draw from one of their sister clubs to replace Pep Guardiola once the manager's deal comes to an end next year.
Guardiola's contract runs through to summer 2025, and he has previously said he may be open to signing a new deal, but reports over the weekend suggested there is 'growing pessimism'.
The Mirror reported that Manchester City are therefore lining up a potential succession plan in case Guardiola does decide to call time – a policy that frankly only makes sense for them.
City will, after all, have seen the difficult situation Liverpool, Barcelona and Bayern Munich now find themselves in: trying to find a top-class new manager against the clock after their current gaffer announced they would be standing down.
Pencilling in a decision now would mean City could sidestep that and give Guardiola's successor a part-time watching brief well in advance.
Any new manager wants to come in and do things their own way, but being able to consult with Guardiola on an ongoing basis could be invaluable in what is traditionally an extremely difficult transition even for the most dominant clubs. Ask Graeme Souness, David Moyes and Unai Emery.
That City are reportedly considering Girona boss Michel has meanwhile raised some eyebrows, but his lack of name value on these shores should not alarm City fans unduly. Girona are, of course, a City sister club – and what is the point of having that kind of network if you're not going to use it other than to sell Aaron Mooy to Huddersfield?
Michel has twice led sides to promotion from the Spanish second tier and – far more pertinently – taken Girona from the second tier to being realistic La Liga title contenders for much of this season, before gravity inevitably caught up with them to push them down to third. All the while, Girona have played a tidy, attacking passing game that will already be familiar to Etihad Stadium regulars.
We are back to an era where big name managers are no guarantee of success – and as Liverpool, Manchester United and the rest are finding at the moment, there are not too many obvious powerhouse managers knocking about world football these days. The game has returned to a state while ideology and methodology are more important than status.
Some may point to Graham Potter's time at Chelsea as a counter-argument, but…well, look at them now, under the more dressing room-palatable guidance of Mauricio Pochettino. As with Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, it would be fair to say the Argetinian's experience suggests that club has issues that extend beyond the dugout.
Besides, since when is any managerial appointment a sure thing? Emery has shown at Aston Villa that what does not work at one club may go hand in glove with another – which is all the more reason City should look to find a hand that already fits.
You just can't tell... might all be well with Michel?
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said on Friday the club has no intention of allowing striker Gabriel Jesus to leave the club this summer.Reports earlier this week suggested that Arsenal would be willing to listen to offers for the 27-year-old, who will have three years remaining on his contract at the end of the season.Jesus has scored eight goals in 33 appearances this season playing primarily as a ...
Jurgen Klopp felt his Liverpool team delivered in terms of performance and result as they put their title heartbreak aside to beat Tottenham 4-2.The Reds’ hopes of winning the Premier League were effectively ended by a series of frustrating results over the past few weeks.But with the pressure off, the Merseysiders were closer to their fluent best as they dealt a blow to Spurs’ top-fou...
Mohamed Salah finally rediscovered his form – unfortunately too late for Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes – as Tottenham were dispatched in an occasionally slapdash 4-2 victory at Anfield.A week ago it was all about the Egyptian off the pitch, with his touchline disagreement with Jurgen Klopp spilling over into his incendiary comment in the mixed zone which did little to ca...
Bromley will play in the English Football League for the first time in their 132-year history after beating Solihull Moors in a Wembley penalty shoot-out.Skipper Byron Webster slotted the decisive spot-kick as Bromley won 4-3 on penalties after 120 minutes of football in the National League play-off final had produced a 2-2 draw.Bromley, who finished the season two places and five points above Sol...
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has no interest in monitoring Tottenham’s results after his side’s quest for Champions League qualification was dealt a blow by a 1-0 defeat at Brighton.Villa travelled to the Amex Stadium knowing victory combined with a Spurs loss to Liverpool later in the day would guarantee a fourth-placed finish.But the visitors laboured for large parts of a tight sou...
Philippe Clement accused Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers of disrespecting his Rangers side with his “can have a bit of fun” comment ahead of next week’s Old Firm game at Parkhead.The Gers boss was speaking after the 4-1 home win over Kilmarnock which returned the Light Blues to within three points of their city rivals with three fixtures remaining.After Celtic’s convincing 3-0 ...
Aston Villa’s quest for Champions League qualification suffered a setback after Joao Pedro ended Brighton’s six-match Premier League winless run with a dramatic 87th-minute winner.Unai Emery’s side travelled to the Amex Stadium knowing victory combined with a Tottenham loss to Liverpool later in the day would guarantee a fourth-placed finish.But Villa, who are juggling their top-...
Chelsea kept up their electric goalscoring form at home and boosted their hopes of European football with a 5-0 thrashing of West Ham.Mauricio Pochettino’s side have now scored 22 times in their last six Premier League games at Stamford Bridge, and here there was a fluency to their attacking play that could well have yielded substantially more than the five they put past the hapless visitors...
Rangers remain on the heels of Celtic at the top of the cinch Premiership table following a 4-1 comeback win over 10-man Kilmarnock but there was plenty of early concern for the home side at Ibrox.Skipper James Tavernier scored an own goal after 12 minutes of a chaotic, incident-packed first half then had a penalty saved by Killie keeper Will Dennis after defender Joe Wright was sent off for the o...
Oxford boss Des Buckingham believes their narrow 1-0 lead is a “good advantage” to take to London Road for the second leg of their League One play-off against Peterborough.U’s captain Elliott Moore headed the only goal of the first leg eight minutes into the second half, nodding in from three yards after Cameron Brannagan headed Josh Murphy’s corner back from beyond the far...
- 1 Man United star on the “hunt for new club”
- 2 7M Daily Laugh - Top 3 EPL & week 35
- 3 Chelsea star “waiting to see” options
- 4 Taylor Ward prepared for her third wedding with Riyad Mahrez
- 5 Glamorous footballer Madelene shows off her bum in barely-there bikini
- 6 Advantage Borussia Dortmund after Champions League first-leg win over PSG
- 7 Saudi Arabia make offer for Virgil Van Dijk
- 8 Harry Kane on target but Vinicius Jr brace earns Real Madrid first-leg draw
- 9 Roma boss Daniele De Rossi admits Bayer Leverkusen have the fear factor
- 10 England could block Walker's ex from getting Euro 2024 tickets