Sources close to the Bayern Munich manager have spoken to Sportsmail

Pep Guardiola has recently been linked with a move to Manchester City

Pep Guardiola would prefer to manage Manchester United when he eventually comes to the Premier League, according to sources close to the Bayern Munich manager.

This presents United with a dilemma as to whether to move for the two-time Champions League winner this summer.

Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge prompted a flurry of speculation before the club's annual general meeting last week when he said that no-one was irreplaceable.

Pep Guardiola would prefer to manage Manchester United when he comes to England, according to sources

Bayern Munich expect Guardiola to decide whether he wants to extend his contract by the end of the year

Bayern will expect Guardiola to decide whether he wants to extend his contract — which ends next summer — by the end of the year. The club will proceed with plans to replace him if he refuses to give a commitment by then.

Manchester City have always hoped that, having brought in chief executive Ferran Soriano and sporting director Txiki Begiristain, who worked closely with Guardiola at Barcelona, they would be in pole position to secure his services.

Guardiola's agent Josep Maria Orobit was in England on Thursday and Friday, leading to speculation in Spain that a deal had been done to take the 44-year-old to City at the end of the season.

The Catalan paper El Mundo Deportivo claimed on Thursday that just 24 hours after City lost to Juventus in Turin, the club were tying down Manuel Pellegrini's end-of-season replacement.

Yet sources who have discussed the situation with Guardiola confirm that he wants to manage in England next but that United are his preferred option.

Louis van Gaal (pictured centre at the King Power Stadium) is under contract at Manchester United until 2017

Guardiola ignored questions about his future on Saturday as the Bayern Munich boss would say nothing

Bayern Muhich beat Hertha Berlin 2-0 to take their points tally to 40 from a possible 42 in the Bundesliga

However, Louis van Gaal is under contract at United until 2017, and Guardiola would not want to undermine a colleague, so could even take another year out if he chooses not to stay at Bayern.

On Saturday Guardiola pointedly ignored questions about his future.

After Bayern beat Hertha Berlin 2-0, to take their points tally to 40 from a possible 42 in the Bundesliga, he was asked what the key factor was in deciding his next club.