{"id":26866,"date":"2025-11-18T07:34:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T12:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/11\/18\/man-citys-rising-bundesliga-star-pep-guardiola-is-the-driving-force-behind-the-move\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T07:34:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T12:34:00","slug":"man-citys-rising-bundesliga-star-pep-guardiola-is-the-driving-force-behind-the-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/11\/18\/man-citys-rising-bundesliga-star-pep-guardiola-is-the-driving-force-behind-the-move\/","title":{"rendered":"Man City&#8217;s rising Bundesliga star Pep Guardiola is the driving force behind the move"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/11\/18\/man-citys-rising-bundesliga-star-pep-guardiola-is-the-driving-force-behind-the-move\/#Man_City_are_in_a_race_to_the_top_to_sign_Saeed_El_Mara\" >Man City are in a race to the top to sign Saeed El Mara<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/11\/18\/man-citys-rising-bundesliga-star-pep-guardiola-is-the-driving-force-behind-the-move\/#Guardiola_is_a_fan_of_wingers\" >Guardiola is a fan of wingers<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<!-- Article Start --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Manchester City have officially entered the race to sign the Bundesliga&#8217;s most exciting young winger, with manager Josep Guardiola personally impressed by FC K\u00f6ln prodigy Said El Mara, according to Sky Sports Germany. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The report claims that City scouts have attended several matches in Cologne in recent weeks to monitor the 19-year-old&#8217;s rapid development.<\/p>\n<p>El Mara has been one of Germany&#8217;s best young players this season, praised for his explosive dribbling, creativity in tight spaces and ability to work across the front line.<\/p>\n<p>His performances not only drew praise from manager Guardiola, but also the interest of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, two clubs known for aggressively pursuing top domestic talent.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Man_City_are_in_a_race_to_the_top_to_sign_Saeed_El_Mara\"><\/span>Man City are in a race to the top to sign Saeed El Mara<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>However, for Bundesliga hopefuls, completing a transfer can be far more complicated than for their Premier League counterparts.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, FC K\u00f6ln made a decisive move to secure the future of their rising star, signing El Mara to a long-term contract until 2030.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, the club are said to be asking around \u20ac40 million, which is considered to be high, although not unattainable, for Europe&#8217;s big clubs.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the growing interest, El Mara is reportedly in no hurry to leave Cologne. Sky reports that talks between the winger&#8217;s representatives and the club are scheduled for the winter, with both parties prepared to carefully assess his next steps.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Guardiola_is_a_fan_of_wingers\"><\/span>Guardiola is a fan of wingers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1-fc-koln-v-fc-augsburg-bundesliga-1-414x285.jpg.webp 414w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1-fc-koln-v-fc-augsburg-bundesliga-1-630x434.jpg.webp 630w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1-fc-koln-v-fc-augsburg-bundesliga-1-768x529.jpg.webp 768w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1-fc-koln-v-fc-augsburg-bundesliga-1-770x531.jpg.webp 770w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1-fc-koln-v-fc-augsburg-bundesliga-1-900x620.jpg.webp 900w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1-fc-koln-v-fc-augsburg-bundesliga-1-1200x827.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1-fc-koln-v-fc-augsburg-bundesliga-1-1536x1059.jpg.webp 1536w,https:\/\/icdn.caughtoffside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1-fc-koln-v-fc-augsburg-bundesliga-1-2048x1412.jpg.webp 2048w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width:1230px) 770px, (min-width:1020px) 630px, (min-width:900px) 880px, (min-width:680px) 97vw, (min-width:414px) 414px, 100vw\"><\/source><\/picture><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">1. FC K\u00f6ln&#8217;s Saeed El Mara celebrates his goal. (Photo by Christoph Koepsel\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cologne see El Mara as a pillar of their rebuilding project and are reluctant to let him go unless they receive a substantial offer.<\/p>\n<p>El Mara fits Guardiola&#8217;s vision of a dynamic wide player who combines technical precision and one-on-one quality.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Bayern and Dortmund consider him a natural fit for their youth-led recruitment philosophy, but Cologne&#8217;s strong stance and price could put them out of contention.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Report: Man City target German star as Guardiola eyes defensive competition<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- Article End -->\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester City have officially entered the race to sign the Bundesliga&#8217;s most exciting young winger, with manager Josep Guardiola personally impressed by FC K\u00f6ln prodigy Said El Mara, according to Sky Sports Germany. The report claims that City scouts have attended several matches in Cologne in recent weeks to monitor the 19-year-old&#8217;s rapid development. El [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[40],"class_list":{"0":"post-26866","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26866\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}