Man City’s ‘Pep Guardiola replacement’ will go down like a wet fart in Liverpool

Manchester City reportedly hope to convince Xabi Alonso to leave Bayer Leverkusen to join as their new head coach amid the belief that Pep Guardiola will walk after the 2024/25 season.

Guardiola is going into the final year of his deal with City, with him hinting on numerous occasions that he intends to leave after the expiry of his current deal. And should he indeed leave next summer, City reportedly will look to bring in former Liverpool midfielder Alonso – after he seemingly turned the Reds down this offseason.

Alonso had been the huge favorite to replace Jurgen Klopp after the German shocked the soccer world when announcing his decision to leave the Reds two years early.

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But after weeks of speculation that Alonso would decide between Liverpool or Bayern Munich, he decided to remain with Bayer Leverkusen – looking to gain more experience as a head coach after an incredible campaign in Germany while going undefeated to win the Bundesliga.

A fan favorite while a player with the Reds, winning the Champions League, Alonso has also been linked with the Real Madrid job in the future should Carlo Ancelotti leave. However, a move to Liverpool’s bitter rivals over the last seven years, would instantly ruin his legacy among fans – despite the Spaniard likely having a tough decision to role the role down if he is indeed offered it.

Football Transfers had first reported that Alonso will be lined up to replace Guardiola, with City’s hierarchy said to be ‘convinced’ by his management and style of play.

Guardiola has previously deployed a similar 3-4-2-1 system which Alonso prefers – something that many believed could be an issue if he had taken over at Liverpool. The Reds personnel would have made it difficult, playing without wingers with the full-backs being used in the role – leaving the likes of Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz having to play out of position.

Liverpool.com says: Xabi Alonso will undoubtedly be a man who City consider when they look to replace Guardiola next season. His record cannot be ignored, playing an incredibly attractive style of football that had dominated in the German league. After a full year though, it remains to be seen if Alonso will have the capabilities of adapting his style of play, with manager sure to look to neutralize them heading into the 2024/25 season – something Atalanta achieved perfectly in the Europa League final.

But if Alonso does agree to join City, after essentially turning Liverpool down, his legacy as a legend in the city will instantly be over. Alonso seems set to take over at Real Madrid in 2025, with Ruben Amorim potentially being a man to keep an eye on for City.

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