Made public Pep Guardiola has been sounded out for England job – Bookies big reaction


 
 
 
 
 
 

A dramatic development, with it now made public that Pep Guardiola has been sounded out to be the next England manager.

The FA having made an informal approach as revealed in an exclusive from The Times (see below).

They say that Pep Guardiola hasn’t given an answer as yet to The FA.

However, The Times say that Pep Guardiola is set to make a decision within weeks, so that Manchester City can plan ahead, with or without him…

It looks all change at The Etihad.

Having seen their CEO move on to Manchester United, Manchester City at the weekend also announced that former Newcastle United midfielder Hugo Viana is going to become their new Director of Football in summer 2025.

With their legal fights against the Premier League, especially the long-awaited outcome of the 115 charges they face covering a number of years, maybe Pep Guardiola will be thinking this is the time to move on, at the end of this season, regardless of whether that is to England or somewhere else.

He is due to be out of contract in summer 2025 and when asked by Italian media on Sunday, he gave an enigmatic answer (see below) as to what his intentions are.

The Times say that their information is that England backroom staff at St George’s Park believe that Pep Guardiola is number one choice for The FA.

Over the weekend, media reports claimed that Thomas Tuchel had been in ‘advanced talks’ with The FA, leading to him becoming favourite for the job. With then Lee Carsley, Eddie Howe and Graham Potter next in the betting, none of who seemingly want the job and in Carsley’s case, surely would be a massive surprise if he was still under consideration.

Pep Guardiola was a 10/1 shot for the job but after The Times exclusive and his comments on Sunday in Italy, this is now the betting from Bet365 on the next permanent England manager:

4/7 Thomas Tuchel

3/1 Pep Guardiola

6/1 Lee Carsley

10/1 Eddie Howe

11/1 Graham Potter

40/1 Kieran McKenna

50/1 Frank Lampard (33/1)

The Times exclusive – 14 October 2024:

‘Pep Guardiola has been sounded out about becoming England’s next manager and is expected to decide on his future in the coming weeks.

It is understood the Football Association made informal contact with the Catalan at the start of this season. While the FA are considering other candidates and no decision has been made on a permanent successor to Gareth Southgate, Guardiola would be the standout option should he choose to end his stay at Manchester City.

Guardiola, who is yet to respond to the FA, is out of contract at the end of the season and has not decided his next move. City want him to remain at the Etihad Stadium into a tenth season.

When asked about his future on Sunday, Guardiola said on Italian TV show Che Tempo Che Fa: “Leaving City? It’s not true, I haven’t decided yet. And it is not even true that I will be the next England coach. If I had decided I would say it… I don’t know either, anything can happen.”

Guardiola will make a decision in the coming weeks as he wants to make sure that he does not leave City in the lurch if he decides to depart. Out of respect to City, he wants to give them clarity on his future as early as possible so they have enough time to sound out a potential replacement if he leaves.

There is a belief among coaching staff at St George’s Park that Guardiola is top of the FA list.’