With Pep Guardiola in the final year of his contract at Manchester City, the Premier League champions have reportedly identified a potential replacement for the Spanish tactician.
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This could be the 53-year-old's final season in charge of the Mancunians.
He has achieved unprecedented success since taking charge of the Citizens in 2016, but with only months remaining until the expiry of his existing deal, there is a real possibility he could be calling time on his career at the Etihad Stadium come the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
Speculation over a possible departure has been fuelled by the upcoming exit of City sporting director Txiki Begiristain. The 60-year-old, a good friend of Guardiola's, is set to retire at the end of this campaign, and it is understood that his successor will be current Sporting CP director of football Hugo Viana.
Begiristain and Guardiola have enjoyed a close relationship since their playing days at Barcelona, and with the former Bayern Munich boss recently claiming that "anything is possible" regarding his future, the Citizens will want to have a succession plan in the managerial department.
According to The Guardian, City want to keep Guardiola beyond 2025, but have identified Portuguese coach Ruben Amorim as an ideal replacement for the trophy-laden tactician.
Amorim is currently head coach at the same club Viana is working at in Portugal, Sporting, and has led the Primeira Liga giants to a second successive league title last season, and in a bid to establish cohesion, he seems the likeliest candidate to take over at City should Guardiola leave.
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The 39-year-old was linked with a number of top English clubs during the past off-season, and even went for an interview for the West Ham United position after David Moyes left, and it now looks as though City hold him in high regard too.
