"Manchester City have been working on Brendan Rodgers for years": City eye Pep Guardiola's replacement, according to report

Manchester City already know who they want to replace Pep Guardiola - and it's Brendan Rodgers of Leicester City.

That's according to the Sunday Times journalist Jonathan Northcroft, who sat down for a discussion with Duncan Castles on the latest edition of the Transfer Window podcast.

Guardiola's future has come into question a couple of times during his time at City, with the manager himself suggesting that he had an end date in mind for his time in Manchester. Previously, he had never stayed in a job longer than four years.

But Guardiola last year signed a deal to keep him at the Etihad Stadium until the conclusion of the 2022/23 season, meaning that this is his penultimate year in charge. And City, it seems, have already been lining up his replacement.

"Manchester City have been working on Brendan Rodgers for years. He's been on their list for years," Northcroft said.

"He (Rodgers) knows that they like him, they let him know that they like him on the basis that if we ever come to change Pep Guardiola, or when Pep leaves, we'd be interested in you."

Man City actually have previous when it comes to thinking this far ahead, too. In 2012, the owners of the club hired Txiki Begiristain, in the hope that he could help convince Guardiola to come and work for the club.

Begiristain played for Barcelona alongside Guardiola before becoming a director at the club. One of president Joan Laporta's most trusted figures, Begiristain was key in appointing Guardiola as manager of Barcelona's first team ahead of Jose Mourinho in 2008 and was instrumental in bringing the Catalan to Manchester City in 2016, following a three-year tenure in Bavaria with Bayern Munich.

Brendan Rodgers most recently won the Community Shield with a victory over City. Though he has been linked with vacant jobs at Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United over the years, it's thought that he would be a good fit for the Eastlands outfit due to his possession-centric style.