GUARDIOLA - Chelsea, Manchester City or Manchester United?

According to Spanish sourced Roman Abramovich has made it clear to Pep Guardiola that he is the man to take Chelsea forward and has offered him anything he wants to take over.

Now that's a bold statement from the Owner here. Some reports have stated that it's in the form of a blank cheque to entice him with money and Guardiola would be free to decide on the length of contract that suits.

I personally cannot see him coming to Chelsea purely and simply because of the turnover of Managers here since 2007. Guardiola favours a project with stability which is something we all thought Jose Mourinho would have upon his return to Chelsea and we all know what had happened!

I see Guardiola favouring either of the Manchester sides over Chelsea. Both of them are appealing to Pep with Manchester City being installed as the out-and-out favourites after he declared yesterday that he wants to manage in the Premier League next season.

We are yet to see what happens to City I  the Champions League this season after they had been handed a favourable draw in the next round. It's no secret that their progress in the competition has stalled with the owners being well aware that to take the next step, they must make their mark on a regular basis and look for a similar record to that of Chelsea with regular appearances in the latter stages.

City will always be one of the front runners now in the Premier League because of the quality of their squad which would have been noted by Guardiola.

As for Manchester United it's a different story. Dumped out of the Champions League this season despite spending huge amounts of money, Louis Van Gaal has a job on his hands to remain as Manager. Another couple of defeats especially if more monies are spent this month could signal the end for the man who has failed to make an impact.

The problem with United is that they never replaced the most successful Manager in the game or the players that became instrumental in their success over the years. Vidic and Ferdinand were never replaced with the same quality. The likes of Scholes, Giggs and a striker to score 20+ goals a season are the same and no one really knows what their best eleven is!

In saying that, the United project in my opinion would be bigger than City based on how United have suffered since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Let's not forget that Jose Mourinho is also waiting in the wings for another job here and has already made his intentions clear by turning down an approach this week from Real Madrid to go back before Zidane was appointed.

So what of Chelsea? What of the project here? Is it something that could entice Guardiola without any talk of money etc?

Chelsea are looking for someone to come in and establish a second coming under Roman Abramovich with the focus being to promote from within whilst trying to maintain a regular challenge for trophies each season. Let's be honest, all previous managers including Mourinho have failed to do so with established names being brought in as the preferred option instead.

Chelsea have a successful youth setup with a number of players looking to make the step up to the first team. The likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek are chomping at the bit to feature but have been overlooked. Also the number of players out on loan remains a concern. We want players to come through here not just to be used as collateral every summer.

What if Guardiola wants full control of our transfer policy? Would the owner give him that control with Michael Emenalo out of a job or given other responsibilities? It is something I am in favour of after the debacle of this past summer. A Manager should be able to manage the players that HE wants and not have to make do with club purchases.

The current playing squad needs some adjusting with as many as five or six being moved on or sold at the end of the season if you believe the press. For the most part we have a young and talented squad that doesn't need as much as Manchester United would to turn things around. It's whether or not Chelsea have a strong second half of the season in the Premier League and the Champions League which could be key to the futures of Cesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard.

My gut feeling is that he will go to City and Jose Mourinho will end up at United in the summer. There is always a chance Chelsea could come into play but for some reason I just cannot see it happening unless he is given total at the club.

Would Roman Abramovich be willing to give him that? Would Pep Guardiola even consider Chelsea in the first place?

One thing is for sure, Guardiola hasn't been tested as yet as a manager at anything other than a top club that are primed to succeed after leaving Barcelona and walking into Bayern Munich afterwards. With the Premier League being as strong as it is, with the managers we have in charge and with other managers taking an interest in coming here, it's not going to be easy!

Would you have Pep Guardiola here?