Manchester City have reportedly identified one of their former players as a potential Pep Guardiola replacement.
Speculation around Guardiola’s future now feels like an annual event, and that cycle does not appear to be fading, despite City’s fortunes seemingly turning from a poor display last term.
We’re almost exactly a year on from the Catalan coach signing a two-year extension, which will take him until the end of next season.
Manchester City identify former defender as Pep Guardiola heir
Whenever the 54-year-old does decide to call time on his tenure at City, it will be a mammoth task trying to replace him.
So, while we’re still well over 18 months from Guardiola’s next potential departure date, the club are smart to be lining up potential successors.
One of those rising to the top of the current pile, according to Spanish website Fichajes, is former City defender and captain, Vincent Kompany.
The Belgian, who already has his own statue outside the Etihad Stadium, played 360 times for the club, and is ranked at No.6 in FourFourTwo's list of the best Premier League defenders of all time.
He’s already got a fairly significant job on his hands, as head coach of a little-known German outfit called Bayern Munich, but an emotional return to his former side would surely prove difficult to turn down.
Kompany was a shock appointment for Die Roten, coming off the back of a turgid season with Burnley, but he went on to lift the Bundesliga title in his first season, following a trophyless campaign for the German giants a season before.
According to Fichajes, City rate Kompany not only for his tactical acumen, but also the emotional ties he already has to the club, which they hope will bridge the gap left by Guardiola’s departure.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, few would have predicted this pathway for Kompany as he was struggling at Turf Moor, but the Sky Blues could certainly do worse.
Nobody will find following in Guardiola’s footsteps easy, but arriving with a ready-made reputation among the club’s fanbase, like Kompany has, will certainly help and provide more breathing room.
On top of that, he managed to handle the cauldron that Bayern was when he landed at the Allianz Arena, having had an uncharacteristically poor season in 2023/24, so he’s proven capable of managing huge jobs.
He may still be a relatively new coach, but Kompany has significant credentials to warrant further exploration by City.
