As negotiations progress, Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson expressed his absolute confidence in the potential managerial appointment. He said: "I liked him at Chelsea. I thought he was a good manager. He's going into Man City, he's been there before, he's worked in the Premier League before. He knows some of the players at City. I think he ticks every box. He's not coming in trying to get used to the place, he's not coming into a league that he's never been in. I think he'll go in and settle quite nicely. They'll need a few players as well. But this is the problem: Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City, Man United, Chelsea all need players. There's not that many players around. Who's going to be able to produce and give the most money to these players?"