Pundit issues worrying verdict on Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola replacement plans | OneFootball

Pundit and former professional Danny Murphy has warned that Manchester City’s current reported plans for life without Pep Guardiola may not be the right decision.

With speculation continuing to surround Guardiola’s long-term future, City’s succession planning has become an increasingly prominent topic. The Catalan remains under contract until 2027, but City are believed to have been quietly assessing potential successors.

Sporting director Hugo Viana is central to that process, tasked with compiling a shortlist of profiles capable of sustaining Guardiola’s tactical identity and standards. Names such as Vincent Kompany, Roberto De Zerbi, Andoni Iraola and Luis Enrique have all been linked in recent months, alongside Chelsea’s now former head coach Enzo Maresca.

The Italian’s name gathered particular traction due to previous work alongside Guardiola during City’s 2022/23 campaign. However, while admiration inside the Etihad Stadium has been reported, the idea of his potential appointment has also divided opinion.

Speaking during a new interview with BestBettingSites.co.uk, Danny Murphy has been quizzed on whether Maresca would be the right man to take over from Guardiola – whenever the Catalan decides to leave the club.

“I don’t necessarily think that would be good for City. I still think he’s in the infancy of his managerial journey. He was fortunate to get the Chelsea job from Leicester, thrust into a huge football club, and he did all right,” says Murphy.

He continued, “He had some success, the team played okay, won a couple of trophies, players progressed. But his fragility and inability to deal with the enormity of the situation were there for all to see.

“Speaking out about the owners, some of the stories you hear about what went on behind the scenes. That’s fine, because managers, like players, learn on the job. But to be thrust into Manchester City, a club that expects to win leagues and Champions Leagues every season, competing at the elite level with superstars, I think there are better candidates.

“Any manager worth his salt would win games at Manchester City, but there’s a difference between winning games and winning the biggest trophies. Regardless of Maresca’s history at City, I don’t think that would be a good appointment.”

City will no doubt be calm and methodical in their planning for life beyond their most successful ever manage, and some believe that Guardiola himself would be involved in any eventual transition process – despite himself denying such a notion.

For now, Guardiola’s focus remains firmly on competing for major honours, with Manchester City still operating as though he will see out his existing deal. Yet with succession conversations becoming more public, scrutiny of every candidate is only likely to intensify.