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Pep Guardiola has been making secret visits to Manchester City's Etihad Campus in a bid to ensure he hits the ground running when he becomes the new Blues' boss.

Guardiola first spent a few days at the club's stunning £200million training ground late last month, less than a week after marking his departure from Bayern Munich with a penalty shoot-out victory over Borussia Dortmund in the German Cup final.

And he was back in Manchester for a flying visit on Friday as he gets himself acquainted with the facilities that will be placed at his disposal at the state-of-the-art City Football Academy.

Sunday Mirror Sport can also reveal that after first meeting with Academy coaches and club staff – including long-serving assistant manager Brian Kidd – 10 days ago, the workaholic Catalan was then whisked 5,000 miles to Abu Dhabi for high-level talks with City owner Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.

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Guardiola's three-year contract with City does not kick in officially until July 1.

But he has been racking up the airmiles on a private jet placed at his disposal even though he isn't yet on the City payroll.

Guardiola is aware that he has taken on a different challenge to the ones he conquered in Spain and Germany over the last eight years.

So he has been keen to begin shaping club policy and business in the transfer market as he looks to emulate the success he enjoyed at Barcelona and Bayern.

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Guardiola got his first wish when German international Ilkay Gundogen arrived in a £20million deal from Borussia Dortmund in midweek, while City will complete a £39million swoop for Athletic Bilbao's Aymeric Laporte once they have confirmation that the young defender's recovery from a broken leg and ankle is progressing well.

City's plans have not been affected by the arrival of Jose Mourinho at Manchester United.

Mourinho has got City targets Paul Pogba and John Stones in his sights, but the belief at the Etihad is that the Pep factor has put them in pole position to land any player that has to make a choice between blue and red.

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City are looking to make a marquee signing this summer – and Pogba would certainly fit the bill.

The French midfielder seemed destined to make the move 12 months ago, but City dropped out when Juventus hiked their asking price to more than £70million and Pogba demanded £300,000-a-week wages.

Those numbers have gone up again in the last year and although City have given their new boss a blank cheque, they are wary about smashing their bonus-driven pay structure.

As we revealed last month, Guardiola is seriously considering Arsenal's Jack Wilshere as an alternative midfield solution now that he has Gundogen secured.

Contact has been made with the Gunners and City understand that the £40million-rated England start wants to work under Guardiola.

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Danny Rose is another target – despite resistance from Tottenham – but there are no plans at the moment for City to add a striker to the squad that Guardiola has inherited because the incoming boss believes that £40million target Leroy Sane can play up front, as can Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling.

Guardiola is said to be unfazed by the news that Mourinho has finally got the job he's craved for years.

It was while United were putting to finishing touches to the Portuguese's three-year contract that the incoming City boss took the opportunity to make a clandestine visit to Manchester in the hope that his presence would go under the media radar while all eyes were on Old Trafford.

But first Guardiola made sure that predecessor Manuel Pellegrini had cleared his office so that there was never any chance of an embarrassing meeting with the man he has replaced.

He was expected to take a holiday after leading Bayern to a second league and cup double in three years.

(Image: A. Beier/Getty)

Guardiola returned to his family home in Barcelona after the summit with his new bosses in the Middle East, but was back in Manchester again before the weekend.

He is said to be been blown away by the facilities he will have at his disposal at the CFA.

Only a handful of club staff were informed that Guardiola would be in town and others were stunned to see the new boss familiarising himself with the Campus.

He made it clear that he did not want to wait until next month to ensconce himself in his new job.

And City's owners in Abu Dhabi were impressed that Guardiola's first thought after celebrating a successful season with Bayern was to pay them the courtesy of a visit in which he was able to further outline his vision for the club's future.