Manager ‘100 per cent’ interested in succeeding Pep Guardiola as Manchester City manager | OneFootball

Manchester City have reportedly received a clear indication from one potential managerial target that they would be willing to take on a role left by Pep Guardiola.

The Premier League champions are continuing to await a final decision from the 53-year-old over whether he intends to take his tenure at the Etihad Stadium into a tenth season, with his existing contract due to expire at the end of the current campaign.

The stance taken by Manchester City is that whilst they are determined to ensure that they get at least another season out of their greatest-ever manager, they remain respectful of his decision and will give him the necessary time and space to make a call.

In the meantime, there is likely to be contingency plans being put in place by the club’s key decision makers over how the club could be led in future in the event of a call from Guardiola to end his stay at Manchester City.

Among the potential successors that could be considered by Manchester City is Sporting CP’s ever-developing coach Ruben Amorim, who has enjoyed huge success at Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon.

And according to the information of iPaper’s Mark Douglas, the 39-year-old would be “100 per cent interested” in the managerial role at Manchester City, should it become available in the coming months.

It is explained that while Manchester City do a good job of keeping their intentions “in-house”, it is now highly likely that the Portuguese coach would be the frontrunner for the Etihad role if Pep Guardiola opted to leave the club in the near future.

The report quotes sources who reveal that there is increasingly an “end of the cycle” feel at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, with Director of Football, Hugo Viana also set to depart in the coming weeks for Manchester City.

The relationship between Viana and Amorim could prove integral in any decisions being made by Manchester City over their managerial future, with the pair being very close on and off the pitch during their time together at Sporting.

It is believed that away from the pitch and day-to-day footballing duties, the families of both men that have been hugely crucial to Sporting’s recent success spend plenty of time together, and that is likely to work in Manchester City’s favour should there be interest.

However, there is likely to be additional interest from Manchester City in the likes of Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso, whilst Pep Guardiola has been outspoken on his admiration for the likes of Roberto De Zerbi, Thomas Frank, and Vincent Kompany.