Hugo Viana arrival date at Manchester City confirmed by Portuguese newspaper | OneFootball

Manchester City’s incoming Director of Football, Hugo Viana from Sporting CP will not arrive at the club in February, a Portuguese newspaper has clarified.

The Premier League champions will bid farewell to one of their most successful and integral figures within the Etihad Stadium at the end of the ongoing season, as Txiki Begiristain leaves his position of Director of Football.

The 60-year-old has been largely responsible for building some of the greatest football teams every witnessed within the game, and complimenting the vision executed by Pep Guardiola over the last nine seasons through the signings of the games best players.

Having also played a key role in attracting Guardiola to Manchester City, the impact and legacy of Begiristain on Manchester City cannot be underestimated, and as such the magnitude of the role being left behind.

But the former Barcelona chief has played a key role in selecting his successor and while some within the club had believed that an arrival for Sporting’s Hugo Viana would be seen early in the new year, regional media have moved swiftly to correct such a notion.

According to the information of Portuguese newspaper O Jogo, and contrary to comments issued by Manchester City’s Ruben Dias earlier this week, Hugo Viana will not move to the Etihad Stadium in February 2025 and will instead remain in Lisbon until the end of the season.

O Jogo state that this has been confirmed to them, presumably by sources within Sporting CP, whilst they insist that Manchester City’s Dias was either ‘misinformed or mis-speaking’ when he announced that Hugo Viana would be joining in the coming months.

As such, it is widely believed that Txiki Begiristain will remain at the very forefront of Manchester City’s business both within the club, and externally such as the recruitment of new talent in the January market.

On the contract negotiation front, there remains the mammoth task of securing Pep Guardiola’s future, with the 53-year-old still undecided as to whether he will leave Manchester City at the end of the season as planned, or extend into a 10th campaign.

Within the playing squad, there is also an intention to reward the likes of Erling Haaland and Rodri with new and improved contracts, whilst Kevin De Bruyne is also seeking clarity as he enters into the final few months of his own agreement.