Pep Guardiola may have identified the player he wants to succeed Fernandinho at Manchester City in Philippe Sandler.

On the chalkboard

If there is one player at City that is truly irreplaceable, it is Fernandinho. The Brazilian’s absence over Christmas sparked a frenzy of freak results that saw Liverpool mount a sizeable lead over the current Premier league titleholders.

Had it been Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Aymeric Laporte or Leroy Sane, Guardiola would have been able to turn to numerous alternatives without affecting results, but the 49-cap Brazil international has no direct number two.

The defensive midfielder, however, is nearing the end of his career at 33 and further injuries will likely creep into his game, having missed just three matches between his £36million move in 2013 and his thigh strain in December.

Guardiola, though, may have identified the player he wants to succeed the £13.5million rated ace in Ajax youth product Sandler.

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A natural centre-back

Sandler, who joined City for £2.25million in the summer, is a natural centre-back by trade, but has the ability to play as a defensive midfielder, too, and it is there where he earned his senior Citizens debut.

Guardiola turned to the 21-year-old during Sunday’s FA Cup clash with Rotherham, that saw the Sky Blues come out comfortable 7-0 victors, and would have been impressed by the display the former Netherlands youth international put in.

Sandler's 23 minute run-out marked just his fourth appearance of the season.

Guardiola’s not afraid to change someone’s position

Guardiola has shown throughout his career as a manager that he is not afraid to groom a player into performing in a different position.

At Bayern Munich, before he arrived in the Premier League, the Spaniard utilised defensive midfielder Javi Martinez as a centre-back on numerous occasions to cope with the absences of Jerome Boateng and Holger Badstuber.

Left-back David Alaba also became more of a versatile option for his coach, with the Austrian fielded as a full-back, a centre-back and a midfielder during his time under the former Allianz Arena boss.