“It was abundantly clear to me” – David Ornstein drops huge update on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City future | OneFootball

Football insider David Ornstein has offered a major development on the future of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, following recent links to the England job.

The 53-year-old is continuing to weigh up his options on his long-term managerial future, having firmly entered into the final months of his existing Manchester City contract with no clarity or indication as what he may be leaning towards in a public sense.

The common consensus within some quarters of the media is that the lure of completing 10 seasons at Manchester City may ultimately prove too strong, and lead to Guardiola signing a one-year extension at a very minimum.

That move from the side of the Catalan coach would also enable the club to settle on their successor at the Etihad Stadium, and reach an agreement with a new manager leading up until the formal changeover at the end of the 2025/26 season.

At present, it remains all speculation and largely guesswork, but in a new development this week, one of the industry’s most reputable providers of information has offered an insight into recent developments surrounding Pep Guardiola’s future.

Speaking to NBC Sports Soccer on Monday evening, David Ornstein issued a wide-ranging update on Guardiola amid conversation of interest over the England national team job, and recent comments surrounding Txiki Begiristain’s exit.

Opening by discussing the situation surrounding Guardiola and his chances of becoming the next England manager, prior to confirmation of Thomas Tuchel’s arrival, Ornstein explained, “My understanding is that he was England, the FA’s top target, their dream candidate to take over as manager for probably the one year leading up to the US, Mexico, Canada World Cup.

“I think there was some contact, the FA maybe reached out over the summer. But Pep Guardiola was in no position to commit at that point, and so the FA would have had to adapt their plans accordingly.”

Moving on to the latest feeling around Guardiola and his chances of remaining at Manchester City, Ornstein continued, “When the story started to come out about Guardiola about a week ago, I made some checks and it was abundantly clear to me that it was more likely Pep Guardiola will extend at Manchester City for one year than anything else, including the England job.

“Now, he always tends to leave his decision quite late. I broke the news in November 2022, the 22nd, that he would be signing his last contract.

“So that was approaching his final six months. And you’ve got to remember here that Txiki Begiristain is leaving. Pep Guardiola said, “Part of me is leaving”. But that has been interpreted by some at City as, ‘Part of me is staying’. So perhaps we haven’t seen the end of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City just yet.”

But what about the 115 Premier League charges, and whether that could influence Guardiola’s decision on his managerial career?

“Again, the sense I get is even if City are charged, it may actually embolden Pep Guardiola to stay on and continue his work for longer,” David Ornstein commented.

From the side of Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City manager will continue to reject any suggestion of an agreement or decision having been made, and will likely not comment on his future until it is made official.

Elsewhere and Txiki Begiristain has plenty of work still to do on the contractual negotiation front, with deals being eyed up for all of Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones, and Rodri over the coming weeks.

With regards to the Belgian, he is also into the final months of his existing Manchester City contract, and a decision is yet to have been made on whether both parties would like to extend, amid transfer interest from Saudi Arabia and Major League Soccer.