Shaun Goater says Patrick Vieira and Mikel Arteta are prime candidates to replace when he leaves .
Guardiola, who has led City to four Premier League titles, is nearing six years at the Etihad Stadium and could leave next summer when his contract runs out.
Goater, who made 283 appearances for the Sky Blues between 1998 and 2003, believes that former stars Vieira and Arteta are the two outstanding managers to take over from Guardiola when he moves on.
Speaking exclusively to ahead of the launch of their 5-A-Side bet on Man City v Liverpool, he said: ‘There are only two contenders, for me, who can replace Pep… and Vieira just edges it over Arteta.
‘Of course there will come a day when Pep Guardiola moves on, but how do you replace a man like that? You just don’t.
‘I think that the Manchester City owners will be taking a serious look at what’s taken place over the other side of the city. And if you don’t get that call right, you start to lose all that greatness you’ve built up.
‘So even now, while things are going smoothly for the club on the pitch, I wouldn’t be surprised if Pep himself if having a huge say in who comes in to replace him.’
Goater thinks that City’s board will be taking note of the difficulties Manchester United have had in finding the right manager and will be sounding out Vieira and Arteta in advance of Guardiola’s exit from the club.
Since taking over from Roy Hodgson in the summer, Vieira has revolutionised Crystal Palace’s style of play and has guided the Eagles to the FA Cup semi-final where they will play Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Arteta has similarly received rave reviews this season at Arsenal for the way he has nurtured a young squad and turned them into top-four contenders.
‘It has to be a great appointment, whenever it takes place,’ Goater reaffirmed. ‘With Mikel having gone to Arsenal, while I’m sure his relationship with the club is still good, I would only suspect that the fact he left the club to take the Arsenal job, would probably put him further down the pecking order.
‘Those are the two names that come to mind for me – they know the club inside out and understand the DNA of Manchester City.’
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