Gabby Agbonlahor has said that he can see Pep Guardiola having the desire to become the next England manager.
On talkSPORT (22/11/2023), the pundit was quizzed about whether Guardiola would be the perfect replacement for Southgate in the future.
It was claimed in September that the FA viewed the Spaniard as their “dream appointment” to replace the Three Lions boss after Euro 2024.
Gabby Agbonlahor says Pep Guardiola could fancy becoming the next England manager
Interestingly, Gary Lineker claimed that in his opinion, he would be “surprised” if the Catalan said yes to the reported prospect.
The two-time treble-winning manager is contracted to Manchester City until the summer of 2025.
But Gabby Agbonlahor believes that Pep Guardiola could fancy managing England in the near future.
“Every England fan will say that if Southgate doesn’t win it [Euro 2024], he’s got to go. Semi-final’s not enough”, Agbonlahor told talkSPORT.
“People say, ‘Oh Pep, he gets obsessed with the players! He’s going to want to see them every day. He’s going to want to work with them every day.’ How do we know that he hasn’t done everything he wants to do in club football?”
Gabby Agbonlahor honed in on why Pep Guardiola might be attracted to the prospect of managing England.
“He’s done it at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now, Man City. He might enjoy the fact that you know what, he can go watch all of these players play for England and go and watch games around the world and have his players when he’s got them in the camp. I think it’d be great to get Pep in.”
Pep Guardiola could cement himself as the greatest of all time if he led the Three Lions to glory
Whether Gabby Agbonlahor is proven right or not is an answer only time has in store for us but if Pep Guardiola led England to winning silverware, his legacy as the greatest manager of all time could be set in stone.
So far, the Spaniard is pitted alongside the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti for the title.
But considering the Three Lions are yet to have won a World Cup since 1966 and have never triumphed at the Euros, despite their rich history, their success at the international level is quite limited.
However, if Pep Guardiola walks in through the door and leads the English to glory, many around the world could well feel that his status as the greatest manager in the history of football is unprecedented.
Whether Guardiola decides to take on the challenge is a mystery for the time being, as one expects that his full focus is on continuing his domination as Manchester City boss.
