'Going to happen' - Man City given stark reminder of Pep Guardiola replacement issue

It feels a lot longer than a year ago that Vincent Kompany was being touted as a future Manchester City option.

Kompany taking charge at the Etihad would be a dream for the club and for supporters after everything he has done - he does have a statue outside the East Stand, after all - but this wasn't just an idle wish. Pep Guardiola said on more than one occasion that Kompany becoming City boss 'is going to happen'.

“He will be back sooner or later," he said. "His destiny to be manager of City is already written in the stars. It’s going to happen. I don’t know when, but it’s going to happen."

ALSO READ: Man City in fixture farce after FA Cup and Premier League games moved

ALSO READ: Flying suitcases and Why Always Me? Inside Mancini's Man City dressing room

That came at a time when Kompany was steering Burnley to an extraordinary return to the Premier League in his first season in charge as they blitzed the Championship with brilliant football. Not only that, they made it all the way to the FA Cup quarter-finals where they earned a tie at the Etihad.

As daft as it sounds given they lost 6-0, Burnley were really, really good. City were in terrific form on their way to the Treble yet Burnley troubled them more in the opening half-hour of the game than Champions League side RB Leipzig had days earlier. Despite the Erling Haaland-inspired thumping, Kompany left the Etihad with even more credit in the bank that day.

12 months on, that stock is considerably lower with Burnley on course for relegation back to the Championship with just 17 points from 29 games. They looked underprepared on the opening night of the season against City, and it hasn't really got any better for them.

The fact that Kompany appears relatively