Manchester City are lining up replacements in case Pep Guardiola chooses not to extend his contract and a report claims Liverpool icon Xabi Alonso will be targeted.
Guardiola is in the final year of his contract with Man City and is yet to make a decision on whether to sign a new deal. Man City do not want arguably the best coach of his generation to depart, though the ball is in the Spaniard’s court.
According to a fresh update from The Athletic, the reigning Premier League champions are looking to the future and forming a succession plan to cover all the bases.
They state Man City are ‘lining up replacements’ and one figure coming under the microscope is Bayer Leverkusen manager, Xabi Alonso.
The 42-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best young managers in the game right now. Alonso helped break Bayern Munich’s 11-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga last term when guiding Leverkusen to their first ever top flight title. The last manager to stop Bayern reigning supreme in Germany was Jurgen Klopp with Borussia Dortmund way back in 2012.
Leverkusen achieved their feat while going unbeaten in the league. They also won the DFB Pokal and advanced to the final of the Europa League.
Alonso is not the only candidate City are considering, though he is very much a manager of interest to the club and his name has already cropped up in conversations amongst the club’s decision-makers.
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An Alonso appointment at Man City would undoubtedly go down like a lead balloon over at Anfield.
Alonso starred for Liverpool between 2004-09, helping the Reds to win the Champions League (2005) and FA Cup (2006).
Liverpool explored appointing Alonso as their successor to Jurgen Klopp earlier in 2024, though the Spaniard elected to remain loyal to Bayer Leverkusen for one more season at least.
He’s also drawn frequent links with Real Madrid since shining at Leverkusen and various reports have speculated he has been lined up as the eventual successor to Carlo Ancelotti.
However, Ancelotti is contracted to Real Madrid until 2026. If Guardiola were to depart in 2025, City could make a decisive early move for Alonso and get the jump on Real Madrid.
TEAMtalk can verify Alonso is on Man City’s radar, as are Ruben Amorim (Sporting CP) and Andoni Iraloa (Bournemouth).
The Guardian recently reported Man City are ‘strongly considering’ appointing Amorim who will soon have an ally at the Etihad in Hugo Viana.
Viana – currently Sporting’s director of football – will take over from Txiki Begiristain as City’s director of football in 2025.
Amorim has since publicly played down speculation his and Viana’s future are intertwined.
Latest Man City transfer news
In other news, Spanish outlet Sport claim Barcelona president Joan Laporta is going ‘all out’ to sign Haaland in either 2025 or 2026.
However, TEAMtalk understands Man City have no intention of offloading their lethal frontman any time soon.
We’ve also been told that if Haaland were to leave – on the back of the Man City being severely punished for alleged FFP breaches, for example – the striker is more likely to join Real Madrid over Barcelona.
Elsewhere, Man City’s search for a Rodri replacement in January could lead to a transfer battle with Liverpool.
Both clubs are understood to be on the trail of Inter Milan livewire, Nicolo Barella.
READ MORE: The key contract details of every Man City first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…
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