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Patrick Vieira has long been earmarked for Manchester City glory.

He has even been touted as a possible successor to current boss Manuel Pellegrini, despite his only managerial experience being with the Blues' elite development squad.

That could even be the reason behind his move to New York City as coach, replacing the sacked Jason Kreis.

But it is quite a gamble for the French World Cup winner – if he is a big success at the MLS club, his achievements will be met with a shrug of the shoulders on this side of the Atlantic.

And if he flops, at a club that is still trying to establish itself in a very competitive environment, it is difficult to see where he goes from there.

Vieira has all the tools to be a top manager. Intelligent, knowledgeable, adored and revered by his players, and yet with the same kind of hard edge that made him such a formidable player.

His work with the up-and-coming youngsters at City has caught the eye, and he has been touted for promotion for the last 18 months.

He has been earmarked as a future first team manager, although Vieira's own response has always been to shy away from the suggestion and suggest he still has a lot of learning to do.

Last year chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said: “I have a lot of confidence in, and the highest regard for, Patrick. “He has been an incredible player and is becoming an incredible coach and I am very proud of him.

“How he went about his first year as a coach is a testament to himself and to the support group within the organisation to make sure he gets everything he needs to develop and be successful on and off the pitch.”

There has been all kinds of speculation, some thinking that he could be shifted up to become an assistant to Pellegrini, some that he be drafted in as assistant to the next manager, and some that he simply take the step up.

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The ideal scenario would be to have him, one day, working under Pep Guardiola, learning from a master, and eventually succeeding the Catalan as boss in his own right.

Instead, City have sent him across the Atlantic to cut his managerial teeth to manage a team that finished third from bottom in its inaugural season.

The task in the Big Apple is already a tough one – New York have three ageing legends in Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo and David Villa.

They also have a squad of American players that is not quite good enough, and will have the pick of City youngsters for next season.

In other words, Vieira will face the same problems as any Premier League manager, but in a less pressurised environment and with the advantage of being cut a fair bit of slack.

Will Vieira one day manage Manchester City? Have your say below