How close did Guardiola get to signing Osimhen as Man City boss departs Emirates?

Victor Osimhen and Pep Guardiola will never work together at Manchester City after the Premier League giants confirmed on Friday that the Spanish manager will leave the club at the end of the season, Afrik-Foot reports.

The Nigerian striker was for many years linked with some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Manchester City. Yet despite Guardiola’s public admiration for Osimhen, the move never came close to becoming reality at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City made only preliminary checks about the striker’s situation during his explosive spell at SSC Napoli. Reports from German and Nigerian media in early 2023 suggested that City made ‘first contact’ to understand Osimhen’s availability. However, Napoli quickly placed a valuation of more than €100 million on the forward, and discussions never moved into formal negotiations.

The biggest reason behind City’s lack of urgency was simply that Guardiola already had complete faith in Erling Haaland.

Haaland had become the undisputed leader of City’s attack after arriving in 2022. The Norwegian striker shattered scoring records almost immediately and went on to score 162 goals across all competitions under Guardiola. His goals powered City to the historic 2023 continental treble and helped extend the club’s domestic dominance.

Still, Guardiola never hid his admiration for Osimhen. Ahead of a UEFA Champions League clash against Galatasaray, the City manager described the Nigerian as an ‘elite, top-class striker’ whose mentality and relentless hunger for goals could improve any team in world football.

Guardiola’s respect for Osimhen became even clearer when he was once asked by reporters to choose between signing Jude Bellingham or Osimhen. The Spaniard reportedly leaned toward the Nigerian because of his ruthless desire to score goals.

Guardiola’s historic striker era at Manchester City

During his trophy-filled decade at Manchester City, Guardiola trusted only a small group of natural centre-forwards to lead his attack.

The first was club legend Sergio Agüero, who was already City’s main striker when Guardiola arrived in 2016. Pep demanded improvements in pressing and movement from the Argentine, and Agüero responded brilliantly by scoring 95 Premier League goals under the Spaniard.

Next came Gabriel Jesus, who joined in January 2017 as a young Brazilian talent. Jesus became an important squad player during several title-winning campaigns and famously scored the goal that secured City’s record-breaking 100th Premier League point in the historic 2017/18 “Centurions” season.

Haaland later arrived as Guardiola’s final attacking weapon, becoming the devastating focal point of City’s frontline.

Between Agüero’s departure in 2021 and Haaland’s arrival in 2022, Guardiola even abandoned the traditional striker role entirely. He built a ‘false 9’ system that confused defenders across England and Europe.

Phil Foden often played centrally because of his movement and intelligence between the lines. Kevin De Bruyne operated as a deep attacking forward during key Champions League matches, while İlkay Gündoğan became City’s top scorer in the 2020/21 season through his late runs into the penalty area.

Guardiola also trusted versatile attackers like Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling to lead the line when tactical flexibility was needed.

The final major striker addition of Guardiola’s era was Julián Álvarez, who arrived alongside Haaland in 2022. The Argentine played both as a striker and attacking midfielder before later moving to Atlético Madrid.

Manchester City confirmed Guardiola’s departure in an official statement, saying: “Pep Guardiola will step down as Manager of Manchester City this summer.

“The Catalan, who joined City in July 2016, has had a transformative effect during his ten years in charge, and will leave having won 20 major trophies – making him the most successful Manager in our history.

“Despite his departure as Manager of Manchester City, Pep will continue his relationship with the City Football Group, by taking up a role as a Global Ambassador. The role will see him giving technical advice to the clubs in the group, working on specific projects and collaborations.”

Guardiola leaves the Etihad with six Premier League titles, one UEFA Champions League trophy, three FA Cups, five League Cups, one FIFA Club World Cup, one UEFA Super Cup and three Community Shields.