HUDDLE ROUND...

So Pep Guardiola’s coming to the Premier League. As we go to press, it’s still unclear where the Bayern Munich manager will rock up once this season is over. But it’s clear he created a stir by announcing he’s Uk-bound. Fans pleaded with him to join their club, papers were full of frenzied speculation and the country’s most high-profile managers squirmed uncomfortably in their padded seats. A story of this magnitude breaking mid-season was a bit... well, strange.

But then it’s been an unusual few months. With a number of the Premier League’s top sides struggling for consistency, Guardiola made his announcement at a time when his potential suitors were, at the very least, open to the idea of a new manager. And who better than Pep?

Turn to page 38 to learn what his new club should expect when he finally lands in the Premier League. Our cover feature dissects the Pep blueprint: the methodology he used to transform Barcelona, overhaul Bayern Munich and and, no doubt, the one he’ll employ at his new club – whoever that might be.

Also in this issue, we reconnect with Borussia Dortmund exactly three years after our last big feature with them. We travelled to Dubai with the German side on their winter break to meet dynamic duo Marco Reus and Pierre-emerick Aubameyang (left), speak to manager Thomas Tuchel and discuss how the club are faring in the post-klopp era (page 74). It turns out their managerial change has helped the club to overcome last season’s disappointments.

Which top Premier League side will be saying the same thing this time next season?