Manchester City are hopeful that Pep Guardiola will sign a new deal before the end of the year, 90min understands.
The Spaniard, who has won four Premier League titles with City since taking over in 2016, is out of contract at the end of the 2022/23 season, though discussions over an extension have been ongoing for a number of months.
Sources have told 90min that there is already a ‘broad agreement’ in place with Guardiola’s representatives over a new deal – which would tie him down to the club until 2025 – and that City, who remain calm about the situation, would ideally like Guardiola to put pen to paper before the end of the calendar year.
Whether or not Guardiola does commit remains to be seen – it’s widely known that he’s keen to return to America at some stage after enjoying a year-long sabbatical in New York in 2013 – but City are ‘very confident’ that he’ll opt to continue at the club, where he can work with and develop Erling Haaland.
Nevertheless, 90min further understands that City Group have made it clear to the 51-year-old that he’d have a place at New York City FC should he want it, and that a succession plan has been floated by the club’s hierarchy if Guardiola decides to leave at the end of his current contract.
One name to have been discussed is Mikel Arteta, sources have told 90min, who is now seen to be a genuine contender for the job after leading Arsenal to the top of the Premier League table.
Arteta is well known to City after spending three years as Guardiola’s assistant, and his startling progress at the Emirates Stadium – which has seen him linked with the top job at Barcelona in recent months – has not gone unnoticed.
Bayern Munich’s Julian Nagelsmann and River Plate’s Marcelo Gallardo are two others believed to be on City’s radar, although the Premier League champions ultimately hope that Guardiola will stay and that any succession plan won’t need to be actioned for another few years.qq
Credit: 90min.com
