Pep Guardiola once described him as one of the best managers in the world, but Antonio Conte is not a favourite to replace him at Manchester City.
While no one would have expected Guardiola to stay on permanently, reports that he will step down at the end of his contract next year will undoubtedly have rocked City’s boats after his trophy-winning tenure.
As world football has proven time and again, replacing a manager of his calibre is no mean feat, especially in the current climate where there is an extreme shortage of experienced coaches on the market.
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A few years ago Conte might have been an option, and Guardiola has repeatedly praised the manager, saying during Chelsea’s Premier League-winning season: “What I think about my colleague Conte is that he is fantastic.”
“He was able to make Italy and Juventus play beautiful football, which has a very defensive culture. He’s a good manager and I learn a lot from watching Juventus, Italy and now his team. I like doing that because I see what they want to do. Their teams control a lot of aspects. He’s probably the best manager.”
Guardiola has echoed similar sentiments since, including during Conte’s time at Tottenham, but it’s highly unlikely he will be a title contender in 2025 – especially with him set to become Napoli’s new manager.
There aren’t many realistic options to succeed Guardiola, with the bookmakers’ favourite being Roberto De Zerbi, who left Brighton at the end of the season, although he would need to take a year off from management.
Guardiola has always backed Vincent Kompany as a future City manager, but he is heading to Bayern Munich, former assistant Enzo Maresca looks set for Chelsea and another of his old colleagues, Mikel Arteta, would shell out some money for a surprise move from Arsenal.
Xabi Alonso remains in the running for most first-team managerial roles and could be available after opting to stay on at Bayer Leverkusen for another year, with Zinedine Zidane also in the running if a major vacancy arises but is thought to be intent on sticking around for the long term as France manager.
City Football Group could well be looking to recruit from within and turn to Spaniard Michel, who was instrumental in leading Girona to promotion from the second tier to the Champions League and reportedly turned down Chelsea for the Etihad.