“After seeing his team” – Pep Guardiola makes bold Manchester City claim about Kompany

Pep Guardiola is “more than convinced” Burnley boss Vincent Kompany will one day return to the Etihad as Manchester City manager.

Vincent Kompany is on the cusp of achieving promotion to the Premier League at Burnley, but it is starting to feel like he cannot escape his destiny to become Manchester City manager one day.

Pep Guardiola is endorsing this idea and adding fuel to the fire that the Belgian could even go on to replace the Spaniard at the Etihad Stadium.

Kompany is admired by Crystal Palace as they look to replace Patrick Vieira according to The Guardian, but it would be a surprise to see him leave the Clarets at this juncture.

City would be keen not to fast-track Kompany into the manager role given the struggles of successful ex-players becoming Premier League managers in the last few seasons.

However, Guardiola, who may have a say in appointing his own successor when he does decide to leave the club, seems adamant that Kompany is the heir to the throne.

The former Barcelona manager issued the following message on Kompany, quotes provided by Simon Stone via Twitter.

“Maybe he doesn’t agree with me, but having seen his teams I’m more than convinced today he’s going to come back,” Guardiola said ahead of Saturday’s fixture. “When? When I said my feelings weeks ago, this part I don’t know. But it’s going to happen.”

“It’s nice he’s back, but over the last two or three days I’ve been thinking about what they’ve done this season. What I saw didn’t make me totally surprised about the position they’re in, being so close to being a Premier League team next year already.

“Seeing what they do more closely, I understand it completely. They will be really, really tough because they do incredible things on the pitch.

“A manager needs time but to be successful with a team, and you need to convince [them] as soon as possible what you believe is the best way to win the games to suit the players perfectly.

“They have a good team – and the way they play is exceptional.”

Guardiola also paid tribute to the impact Kompany had on City and his team-mates during his time at the club, including three years under Guardiola, during which the pair won back-to-back league titles in 2018 and 2019.

“Everybody knows he was an incredibly important figure here,” he said. “He’s one of the biggest legends the club has had. Personally, I have one regret which is that he was injured a lot of the time when I was here.

“But the important thing is how he helped me since day one. I arrived here from another country, didn’t know the Premier League, and in the bad moments, his influence on the dressing room always helped the team make steps forward.

“To me, he said the things he thought was best for the club. he was an exceptional captain, a top human being. On the other side, I’m a little bit concerned because when you start playing games with the other manager on the touchline being a player you had, you realise how old you are becoming.”