CITY IN A STICKY SITUATION
WOULD anyone at Manchester City be bold enough to suggest to Pep Guardiola it might be time for another sabbatical? That’s one hell of a conversation given he was the manager of their dreams.
Yet the revelation that there is a break clause in his contract at the end of the 2019-20 season raises some intriguing questions and possibilities, given Mauricio Pochettino’s availability.
Guardiola is looking tired, almost irritable this season. That might be because he is 14 points behind Liverpool, a position he admits is new to him as a manager. Yet equally, it could be the result of his intensity, and the incredible work he has done at Manchester City these last two seasons.
To build a team as relentless, as technically dazzling, to record the numbers that have propelled the club to the first back-to-back titles in the Premier League since 2009, to become the first coach to land a domestic treble — it is no wonder Guardiola looks drained at times.
City have breezed through Champions League qualification and that surely remains an ambition. Yet City have ageing players in key positions and the shortterm future contains some challenging obstacles. Does Guardiola want that rebuilding job; is he even the best man for it, if Pochettino is available?
Despite Jose Mourinho’s impressive start at Tottenham, there remains the feeling Pochettino might come as a pair, with Harry Kane. That would solve the succession problem at City on two fronts — Guardiola, and Sergio Aguero. And City could afford what would no doubt be an astronomical asking price from Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, one of the few clubs that could.
The timing is terrifyingly delicate, though. If City sounded out Pochettino, and the news leaked, they could lose Guardiola too, with no guarantee of securing his replacement.
If they wait for Guardiola to make up his mind, he might trigger his break clause after Pochettino committed elsewhere. Yet any attempt to raise this delicate subject with him could be taken as a slight and precipitate his departure.
And City spent the best part of a decade coveting Guardiola’s recruitment. How could they risk losing him now, when he is even talking of signing for longer?
Who at City is empowered to simply begin this discussion? The possibility of a smooth, timely change will be tempting, but it is not so much diplomacy that is required here, as the ability to juggle dynamite.