The 'Pep' factor is likely to be tested before the start of next season at the Etihad with the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager not inheriting an embarrassment of riches of players to mould into a successful European outfit
Pep Guardiola instead will have to bring in a few world class players of his own and top of the list for his Manchester revolution seems to be Paul Pogba
The Juventus midfielder has been successfully identified as a half-decent prospect by Pep and he intends to make him the centrepiece of his Etihad vision.
That rumour comes according to widespread reports in publications such as the Mirror who claim the incoming manager is already considering the new personnel required to transform a decent side into a world-beater and has set a deadline for City of June 10th to make it happen
Pogba would likely cost City somewhere north
Pogba himself has been making positive noises about the prospect of working with Guardiola ahead of the Champions League tie between Juventus and Bayern Munich:
"He is a coach of with a lot of experience and has a great game philosophy," he said.
"Therefore, he always has a great influence on his team
All the players respect him
You only have to look at him and you want to learn from him
IÂ’ve heard that he improves every player
He is a football icon.
"Right now I am still with Juventus, but clearly if you have chance to work with someone like him, you can only develop further."
Pep will be relying on his predecessor to guide City to another season of Champions League football by securing 4th which has some uncertainty attached itself with West Ham United and Manchester United both within striking distance to profit from any slip-ups in the last remaining fixtures of this season
Should Pep want to take on more of a project he could find his first target being to qualify for Champions League football before attracting the kind of talent that will be required for City to comfortably compete at Europe's top table
Some may be a little guarded in their praise for a manager widely considered to be one of the greats of the current era through dint of inheritance
Should the Spaniard contrive to inherit a club that has no route to the Champions League and should he do some work attracting the top talent and bring them Champions League success then that would undoubtedly be his greatest achievement to date
The addition of Paul Pogba next season will likely have a lot of variables attached but will likely by a marker for the 'Pep' factor.
Source : DSG
Source: DSG