With Pep Guardiola making clear his intentions on moving to the English Premier League, the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United have begun their charm offensives to try and get the highly-rated Spaniard on board.
While Manchester City remain favourites to sign Guardiola in the place of Manuel Pellegrini, Manchester United are also very much in the mix, with Louis Van Gaal's future still up in the air.
Much will depend on how decisive a move Manchester United make, with Manchester City, according to several reports in England, confident Guardiola will move to the Etihad for the new season.
Arsenal are also an option for Guardiola, but with Arsene Wenger unlikely to leave early from his contract, which runs until the summer of 2017, the likely destination remains Manchester. Guardiola has already rejected the opportunity to sign for Chelsea, according to The Sun, with the report also claiming Manchester United only have days to try and push through a deal for Guardiola, with City waiting in the wings to seal the Spaniard's signature.
Meanwhile, Guardiola's former player Xavi believes Guardiola will be a huge success in the Premier League. Xavi and Guardiola won trophies galore with Barcelona, and the midfielder, who now plies his trade in Qatar, revealed managing in the EPL was always Guardiola's dream.
"There was never a question of if Pep was going to manage in England -- the only question was always when," Xavi was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror. "When I was at Barcelona we would always be talking about the Premier League, and our respect for the quality of the teams, the players, and the pace the game was played at.
"Even when he was at Barcelona, you could see it was his dream to one day manage in England."
So, will Guardiola be as successful as he was with Barcelona, and, to a certain extent, Bayern Munich? Xavi has no doubts, whatsoever. "I don't think it is even a question if he will be a success in England or not," the former Spain international added. "Of course he will be, like he is a success everywhere.
"From the way his Barcelona and Bayern teams have played football, it is clear he plays a philosophy of football the fans will enjoy, but Pep is so much more than that. He is a perfectionist of course, but if you speak with the players they will all talk about the family atmosphere he creates at the clubs he is at, how he has the total trust from his players.
"That is what makes him special."
