According to the Independent, City could already be lining up a number of possible replacements for Manuel Pellegrini should he leave this summer; both from the Premier League and from on the continent, and all with their own level of prestige attached to them.
The primary candidate that most feel would be the favoured option of all the senior staff at City is Pep Guardiola, and it was reported that The Blues could try and lure him to Manchester in the summer if he won the Champions League with Bayern Munich this season; however, that now looks increasingly unlikely, with Pep speaking of the speculation in a press conference and remarking that he hopes to be at Bayern for a “long time”.
Interestingly, Ian Herbert of the Independent believes Brendan Rodgers could be second on the shortlist behind Guardiola, due to his tendency to play the attractive and attacking football that the City board desire so much. He has experience in the Premier League with Liverpool and Swansea, but may not be the most popular option among City fans given who may or may not be available.
Carlo Ancelotti has also been named as a possible successor to Manuel Pellegrini, with Herbert believing he is currently third on the list if moves for Guardiola or Rodgers do not come off. He also has experience in England with Chelsea (winning the league title and the FA Cup) as well as a wealth of experience and success in Spain and Italy in particular, winning three Champions League titles combined with Real Madrid and AC Milan, the last of which came last season. His Real side are currently world champions, having won the Club World Cup in Morocco three months ago.
Diego Simeone has also been mentioned, with him seemingly the second favourite among City fans – behind, of course, Pep Guardiola. However, the Independent believe he is unlikely to be the next Blues manager, due to not playing the style of football wanted by the City hierarchy.
Of course, there is no confirmation that any decisions have been made about Manuel Pellegrini’s future as of yet. He still has 11 league games in which to mount one last charge on Chelsea from five points behind, and there’s the return leg in Barcelona which could just go our way. It’s not likely, but stranger things have happened. If we did manage to retain our Premier League crown and progress against Barcelona (and with any luck, even further than that), then it is an almost certainty that any lingering rumours about Pellegrini’s future would dissipate into nothingness very quickly.
