Although he is still the manager of Bayern Munich, reports from Europe suggest that Pep Guardiola is also already making plans for future signings he would like to make when he moves to Manchester City.
Earlier this year, Guardiola had announced that he would be leaving Bayern Munich at the end of the season when his contract with the Bavarians run out, and will join Manchester City in the Premier League instead. In fact, according to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf [via ESPN], Guardiola flew out to the Netherlands to meet a Manchester City official.
The Manchester City official, who Guardiola supposedly met in Amsterdam earlier this week, is none other than the club’s director Txiki Begiristain. The duo had played together at Barcelona in the 1990s, and now are set to reunite at Manchester City, at the start of the 2016/17 season.
Pep talk in Amsterdam https://t.co/6xU9j4LK9W pic.twitter.com/Tjce4UUpNR
— Redactie Telesport (@telesport) March 8, 2016
Interestingly, it was Begiristain who is said to have lured Guardiola to Manchester City, and also has the last say on most of the club’s transfers.
There are a host of names that have been linked with a move to Manchester City, and most of these links have been made because they are said to fit Guardiola’s unique system of possession football. Reports from the Dutch media suggest that Guardiola and Begiristain met to discuss the possible future signings for Manchester City.
Is Guardiola’s focus shifting from Bayern?
When asked about his impending move to Manchester City earlier this season, Guardiola had said that Bayern Munich would have his full focus till the end of the season, after which he will make the much awaited move to the Premier League.
However, in the last couple of matches, Bayern Munich have lost 2-1 at home to Mainz, and had to settle for a goalless draw away at Dortmund. Although the latter result can be said to be an impressive one, the Bavarians failed to get on the scoresheet, in spite of dominating the proceedings for the entire game.
These results, coupled with the recent detour to Amsterdam right after the Dortmund match may be an indication of the Spaniard’s focus slowly shifting away from Bavaria. Nevertheless, Guardiola has said that he can juggle his two interests at the same time, and it would be interesting to see how Bayern Munich churn out their results at the business end of the season, as the former Barcelona man’s time at Munich draws to a close.
