Pep Guardiola linked to vacant Chelsea post: Will he take it?

It's no surprise that, after the decision was made by Chelsea to part ways with Roberto Di Matteo, Pep Guardiola's agent got a phone call. There's no way of knowing whether or not Guardiola is Roman Abramovich's top candidate or whether Pep is interested in the job, but at present, any prominent team with a managerial vacancy is at least obligated to send out a feeler for the currently jobless Barcelona legend.

The Telegraph is reporting that the two parties are in talks over the job.

Talks are taking place with Guardiola who, until now, has insisted that he is determined to take a year-long sabbatical from football after leaving Barcelona in the summer.

Guardiola is being spoken to directly by Roman Abramovich after the Chelsea owner swiftly sacked manager Roberto Di Matteo within hours of the 3-0 Champions League defeat away to Juventus.

However, just because talks are ongoing doesn't mean that they're going to lead anywhere. Spanish and Spanish-based media don't seem to think that Pep is too keen on taking over at Chelsea. Football España passed along some grumblings from the papers.

[A]ccording to AS journalist Guillem Balague and reports in Mundo Deportivo, the 41-year-old will not be taking the position.

Over at The Guardian, Sid Lowe penned an opinion piece where he comes to the conclusion that Guardiola will not be interested in taking over at Stamford Bridge, due to their frequent discarding of managers and the current state of their squad.

When Guardiola arrives he wants to be able to construct a team his way and from the beginning, not pick up a project halfway through. His ideas, his philosophy, are clear and he will stand by them. He will want the club to do likewise. Manchester City and Milan may be options. City, where Txiki Begiristain has just joined as director of football, may look more attractive now. Chelsea, where Di Matteo has just left, may not.

The point about City and Milan is an important one. While Abramovich wants to move quickly to appoint a successor to Di Matteo, the experienced managers who are currently without jobs have no reason to jump to Chelsea on Wednesday afternoon. Both City and Milan have managers who are very much on the hot seat, and both present attractive propositions for a manager. City have a deeper squad than Chelsea with the same, if not greater financial resources. Milan are more or less a blank slate, currently defined by their young players, and their fans will be patient with a new manager.

If City and Milan fail to win on Wednesday night, Roberto Mancini and Massimiliano Allegri could find themselves in the same situation as Di Matteo. When that happens, Guardiola -- along with Rafael Benitez, Harry Redknapp, and coveted up-and-comers at smaller clubs -- will likely have some options.

Chelsea is the best job for Guardiola at the moment, but it might not be the best job for Guardiola in 24 hours time.