Manchester City are reportedly preparing for the worst-case scenario of manager Pep Guardiola leaving the club at the end of the season.

Guardiola is into his fifth campaign as City boss, surpassing the four years he spent in charge of Barcelona and three years with Bayern Munich.

The Catalan is due to be out of contract at the end of 2020-21, though, and the Citizens are readying themselves for his potential departure next summer.

According to The Telegraph, City chiefs will start looking for a new head coach the moment Guardiola signals that he is ready to quit.

However, there is said to be real belief behind the scenes at the Etihad Stadium that the 49-year-old will sign another contract extension.

City have made a slow start to the season, having won just one of their opening three Premier League games to find themselves down in 14th place.