Manchester City are now set to see Pep Guardiola continue his journey at the club beyond this season.
On Thursday night, the club announced that Guardiola has put pen to paper on a two-year contract extension that will see him remain at the Etihad Stadium until 2027.
One figure who will be leaving City in the summer is Txiki Begiristain – who will be bringing an end to his time as the club’s sporting director at the end of the season.
During his time at the club, Begiristain has overlooked a multitude of deals including transfer acquisitions and contract renewals.
With Hugo Viana taking over from Begiristain in the summer, some behind-the-scenes details have come to light regarding what sort of involvement Guardiola will have in terms of what deals get made over the summer.
- Who is Hugo Viana? Get familiar with the favourite to replace Txiki Begiristain as Man City Director of Football
Transfer expert sheds light on Guardiola’s input in behind-the-scenes City deals
Speaking exclusively to Manchester City News, GRV Media’s transfer expert, Graeme Bailey, said this on the subject of how involved Guardiola will be with Viana in terms of dealing with player contracts and transfer deals.
He said: “Pep doesn’t have a massive say in it. He doesn’t get involved in it.
“He obviously offers his advice, but he allows it was Begiristain and Soriano and now Viana, he lets them build the squad.
“He offers his advice on these players, lets them know what they need. it’s up to him to tell them what he needs and they go and do it.”
Guardiola hinted at squad overhaul ‘decision’
In his latest press conference ahead of City’s Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur, Guardiola hinted at a squad overhaul, saying this on how his ageing squad could force the club into making some big decisions in the near future.
He said: “We have 12 players more than 30 years. We have to see what is going on and I want to see for myself first. After, we’re going to decide.”
With Guardiola guiding City to multiple trophies since his arrival in 2016, this highlights how well the recruitment has been and how well the working relationship between him and Begiristain has worked for the club.
Now that Viana will be taking over from Begiristain, the onus should be on him to try and work out his best way of working and trying to be as effective as his predecessor without having to rely on Guardiola to have more involvement in that particular area and taking his focus away from the football side of things.
