Pep Guardiola to oversee reign of glory? Lionel Messi to follow? Deadline day assesed
Tuesday 2 February 2016 14:53, UK
Pep Guardiola gatecrashed Deadline Day and Sky Bet feel his pending move to Manchester City could well spark a period of domestic dominance by the club.
It was announced that the current Bayern Munich boss will move to the Etihad Stadium in the summer and that prompted the bookmaker to make City 10/1 to win three successive Premier League titles, starting next season.
Only their city rivals United have previously won three in a row in the Premier League era, doing so twice - the last occasion being between 2006 and 2009.
City are already just 11/8 to win next season's Premier League under Guardiola - and 20/1 to win it by 10 or more points. The Citizens are also 14/1 for the double, 80/1 for an unprecedented domestic treble and 150/1 for the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble, famously achieved by United in 1998/99.
Sky Bet trader Jack Abbott said: "Having won the Spanish La Liga three times in a row between 2009 and 2011, Pep Guardiola is also on course to win the Bundesliga three times in a row. Could he do the same when he takes over at Man City.
"We feel the recent struggles of fellow Premier League clubs Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal make 10/1 an appealing price and Guardiola is likely to be given a war-chest to bring in some of his former Catalan stars, such as (Lionel) Messi and (Andres) Iniesta, who may find this the perfect opportunity to play in the Premier League."
Messi or Neymar to follow Pep?
Guardiola arguably got the best out of Ballon d'Or winner Messi during his time in charge of Barcelona and the Argentine is 5/1 to join City in the summer transfer window, while Neymar, who has spoken of his desire to work with Catalan, is a 20/1 chance to arrive at the Etihad Stadium.
Sky Bet were also quick to price up a summer move for Yaya Toure following the Guardiola announcement.
Toure left Barcelona during Guardiola's stint at the Nou Camp but is 1/3 to still be there come September, while it is for 6/1 that he joins Inter Milan, 8/1 any MLS club - the same price as any Chinese Super League move.
Pellegrini's next move
Manuel Pellegrini, the man who will be replaced by Guardiola, is now just 2/1 to make Chelsea his next job. Valencia are 3/1 in that market with a switch to international football with his native Chile a 5/1 shot. It's 10/1 that he moves across the city and make Manchester United his next managerial role.
He could yet lead City to a never-before-achieved quadruple this season - City are 200/1 to complete that feat, 150/1 for the treble and 16/1 for the domestic treble.
Pellegrini is due to stay until the end of the season but he's 12/1 to be the next top-flight boss to leave his role.
That market is now dominated by Aston Villa's Remi Garde at evens. His club failed to conduct any business on deadline day and the Frenchman then hinted he was unhappy at that decision, saying: "Maybe it was not as clear when I signed," and suggesting he could consider his future.
Deadline day winners
The two big deals of Deadline Day saw Porto midfielder Giannelli Imbula join Stoke of £18.3m and Lokomotiv Moscow striker Oumar Niasse sign for Everton for £13.5m
Stoke are now 16/1 to finish in the top six and evens for a top-half finish. Everton are 11/1 and 8/11 respectively in those markets.
Watford (£34m) and Newcastle (£29m) were two of the biggest spenders across January as a whole, the window showing that clubs further down the table, rather than those at the top, were prepared to spend as they chase the extra TV money which will kick in next season.
Watford are now 15/8 to finish in the top half and 50/1 to go down. Newcastle are 4/6 to stay up and 6/5 to be relegated.
There was no move, however, for Saido Berahino, with Newcastle once again favourites to secure his services in the summer at 3/1 followed by Tottenham at 6/1.
