It’s definite, he’s coming.
All the speculation, and Manchester United prayers, came to an end on Monday when Pep Guardiola was confirmed as the next Manchester City manager.
Guardiola will take charge of City from the start of next season and his reputation means a bevy of stars ought to be lining up outside the Etihad in a bid to play for the most in-demand manager in world football.
Typically, Guardiola’s arrival at clubs has led to a shake-up of both the style of football and the personnel.
Many outlets got carried away and thought Guardiola’s presence would have prompted moves for stellar signings like Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique or Phillip Lahm.
Spanish website Sport has been a tad more realistic in their predictions of a potential XI under Guardiola, but they too expect the Spaniard to ring the changes in Manchester.
Sport envisions an almost complete defensive overhaul with Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany and Aleksandar Kolarov all set to be replaced.
Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte is predicted to pair up with Everton’s John Stones at centre-back, in front of current Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, while Bayern Munich’s David Alaba would start on the left.
The front three remain unchanged, but a raid on Europe may result in Juventus’ Paul Pogba and PSG’s Marco Verratti lining out alongside David Silva.
Won’t somebody please think about poor Samir Nasri?
