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Pep Guardiola puts Chelsea and Arsenal on alert as he 'tells friends he wants to move to London' to manage in the Premier League

Manchester City have identified Guardiola as their preferred choice to replace Manuel Pellegrini should the former Barcelona manager leave Bayern Munich in the summer

Jack de Menezes
Saturday 24 October 2015 11:15 BST
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Bayern Munich head coach Pep Guardiola
Bayern Munich head coach Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola could finally make a move to manage a side in the Premier League at the end of the season after it was reported he will leave Bayern Munich if he does not agree a new contract.

The former Barcelona head coach is out of contract at the end of the current season and has so far shown no urgency in trying to seal a new deal. Having enjoyed phenomenal success at both Barcelona and Bayern, a number of clubs would move for Guardiola should he become available in the summer, but it’s believed he could be on his way to the Premier League.

The Daily Mail reports that Guardiola has his sights set on London, having told friends that he would like to move to England in the summer.

The 44-year-old Spaniard has been heavily linked with taking the job at Manchester City should current manager Manuel Pellegrini get the sack, but the idea of Guardiola would certainly alert Chelsea and Arsenal.

City would still look to lure Guardiola to the Etihad Stadium, but with Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho facing an uncertain future the prospect of seeing Guardiola at Stamford Bridge is not as unthinkable as it was last season.

Mourinho is under pressure to turn around Chelsea’s slow start to the season, with the defending Premier League champions languishing down in 10th place in the table and facing a tough task to reach the Champions League first knockout round.

Arsenal v Everton - Premier League preview

The Blues’ owner, Roman Abramovich, has given Mourinho a vote of confidence already this season, but should the Portuguese fail to get the side back into the title picture he could well be replaced by Guardiola.

Arsenal would be less likely to move for Guardiola in the summer given that their current manager, Arsene Wenger, is contracted to the club until 2017. Wenger has already signalled his intention to see out the contract, although he did hint earlier this month that the deal may be his final one with the Gunners after passing his 19th anniversary of taking charge of the side.

However, Bayern do want Guardiola to remain at the Allianz Arena after he led them to consecutive Bundesliga titles, but he has yet to emulate his predecessor, Jupp Heynckes, in bringing the European Cup back to the Bavarian side.

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