There are plenty of big names in Europe that City could target and more Spaniards pop up.

Guardiola’s former Barcelona team-mate Luis Enrique delivered the holy grail for Paris St-Germain last season, leading the club to Champions League glory to complete a Treble of trophies.

Enrique’s appointment, though, would mean an awkward reunion with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was deemed surplus to requirements and sold to City on deadline day.

Xabi Alonso wrestled the Bundesliga title away from perennial winners Bayern Munich during his time at Bayer Leverkusen, but is now seemingly hanging on to his job at Real Madrid which could affect the standing of his stock.

The former midfielder played under Guardiola at Bayern and the City boss spoke recently about how much he “loves” Alonso and the time they spent together.

Current Bayern boss Vincent Kompany would be a popular choice with supporters, having captained the club and won four Premier League titles during his 11 years in Manchester.

The ex-City defender has rebuilt his reputation magnificently after enduring relegation with Burnley, winning the German title last season and running away with it again this year with a nine-point lead at the top.

The great Zinedine Zidane continues to be out of work four years after leaving Real, but is he still holding out on the France job?

Italian Roberto de Zerbi knows about working in England after his time at Brighton and is doing an impressive job at Marseille, but would he be too volatile a figure for City chiefs?

Julian Nagelsmann is still only 38, but could his position come into question if Germany fail to perform well at the World Cup? Former City and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann has said, external the ex-Bayern boss “will definitely be an option” because he believes Guardiola “has a high opinion of Nagelsmann”.