Manchester City started the search for a new coach former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola is currently hidden, but the largest candidate.

Pep Guardiola is being tipped to become the next manager of Manchester City after his “mentor” at Barcelona, Txiki Begiristain, was appointed director of football at the Etihad, as City’s current boss, Roberto Mancini, cuts an increasingly frazzled figure on the touchline.

City overcame Swansea on Saturday but the nature of the win was unimpressive, and with City all-but eliminated from the Champions League already speculation about a change of manager has been rife.

But changes are already afoot behind the scenes at Manchester City. Begiristain was unveiled as the new director of football at the weekend. His arrival follows that of Ferran Soriano, the former Barcelona vice president, who became the club’s chief executive in August.

Reports that City has strongly denied rumours of Mancini’s demise, and the sports website suggests that the Spaniard is more likely to end up at Chelsea.

But how Mancini gets on with Begiristain remains to be seen. The Times points out that the Spaniard has been brought in to replace Brian Marwood, who previously oversaw the club’s transfer policy but had fallen out with Mancini.

“Begiristain’s standing in the game is likely to command more respect from Mancini than Marwood, [but] the manager… wanted to be able to call the shots in transfers,” said the paper. “Mancini’s capacity for confrontation has become a mounting source of frustration behind the scenes but neither Begiristain nor Soriano will be prepared to tolerate the kind of treatment Marwood endured.”

The rest of the contenders are Benitez, who was sacked by rivals Inter in December 2010 after just six months in charge, and Mancini, who has won three Scudetti.

Filippo Inzaghi could also be in contention to replace Allegri. The former Italy international ended his playing career last summer, but has been working with the club’s youth ranks, and would be a popular choice amongst fans.