Pep Guardiola will be offered the chance to become manager of the Netherlands when he leaves Manchester City.
Guardiola is under contract at the Etihad until the summer of 2023 and has previously hinted he could leave the Premier League champions when his current deal expires.
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss is unlikely to be short of job offers when steps down from his current role.
According to The Mirror, the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) are drawing up plans to snare Guardiola once he calls time on his City career.
The report claims the KNVB previously contacted Guardiola over his future prior to him signing a two-year contract extension with City last August.
Guardiola has strong links to Dutch football, having played under the late Johan Cruyff during his time in charge of Barcelona.
As a coach, Guardiola has based his style of play around the Dutch philosophy of ‘Total Football’ and has previously said he “knew nothing about football before knowing Cruyff”.
“You hear all these people saying: ‘Oh Pep, what a good manager he is.’ Forget about it. Cruyff was the best, by far,” Guardiola told The Guardian in 2016.
“Creating something new is the difficult part. To make it and build it and get everyone to follow? Amazing.
“That’s why, when I was Barcelona manager, I went to see Johan many times. I made especially sure I went a lot in my first year when we won everything, absolutely everything.”
Former Barcelona and Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal is currently in charge of the Dutch national side for the third time in his career.
Van Gaal came out of retirement to replace Frank de Boer after the Netherlands' disappointing Euro 2020 campaign.
His current contract is due to expire at the end of 2022, after the World Cup in Qatar.
Guardiola has made no secret of his desire to move into international football once he leaves Manchester City.
Speaking last year, Guardiola admitted he would need a break from management once he leaves the Etihad but is open to taking charge of a national team in the future.
“The next step will be a national team, if the opportunity presents itself,” Guardiola said.
“I must take a break after seven years (at Manchester City).
“I need to stop and look, learn from other coaches and then maybe take that path.
“I would like to coach in a European Championship, a Copa America, a World Cup.”
However, City's owners are hopeful they can persuade Guardiola to extend his stay at the club after a period of unparalleled success, which has featured three Premier League titles, one FA Cup win and four Carabao Cups.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Pep Guardiola, Football, Manchester City, Premier League, Netherlands
Rory O'Callaghan