Pep Guardiola outlines vision for Man City future without him amid Roberto De Zerbi links

Pep Guardiola stopped short of declaring Roberto De Zerbi as an ideal candidate to succeed him at Manchester City, but did offer the Blues hierarchy some advice in what kind of manager they should look for when he finally leaves.

With De Zerbi's Brighton arriving at the Etihad this weekend in the Premier League, attention has turned back to Guardiola's previous praise of the Italian. Last season he described De Zerbi as one of the most influential managers of the last 20 years.

Ahead of Saturday's clash, Guardiola again heaped praise on De Zerbi's 'unique' approach at the Amex Stadium and said the fixture will be one of the most difficult his side will face all season. With reports suggesting that Guardiola has told his players that De Zerbi could be a future Blues boss, he was asked whether he would have any input in choosing his successor.

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"It's none of my business," he said after denying his private comments on De Zerbi's future chances of becoming City boss.

"If the chairman asks my opinion I will give my opinion but it's none of my business. I'm not sporting director. It's not my responsibility to say what's going right or wrong. I have friends here. If they ask a question [I will answer]."

However, if the club were to ask, Guardiola said he would tell them to continue with their current strategy when they look for the next manager to lead them after he leaves.

"I don't know how many years for this idea the way we play for the academy. I would say continue with the idea," he said. "In terms of the type of players we want, I say keep going with that. But I don't