Manchester City plan double move for Raheem Sterling and Pep Guardiola

City set sights on 'Sterling' summer

The many layers to this latest Raheem Sterling rumour from the Mirror make it an irresistible Transfer Talk special.The team: Manchester City -- the defending Premier League champions have an embattled manager, literally no shot at the league this season and may well be letting Champions League play slip through their grasp as well.

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 The players:Raheem Sterling -- a young starlet looking to test the transfer waters; Manuel Pellegrini -- in the role of embattled manager; Pep Guardiola -- current Bayern Munich boss and the apple of Man City ownership's eye, who happens to have another year left on his contract.With their struggles of late, City are obviously looking to shake things up over the summer. The first move, according to the Mirror, is a mooted £30 million-plus bid for Sterling the minute the summer transfer window opens. The Daily Mail have the price tag at £50 million, with Liverpool knowing full well that City's finances won't be at issue.

The 20-year-old has had a few rocky weeks off the pitch with everything fromill-advised quotes in an unauthorized interview to a video turning up of Sterlingappearing to inhale nitrous oxide or laughing gas.Perhaps a change of scene is just what the doctor ordered for Sterling.In the dugout, it's Pellegrini feeling the heat, despite having just won the Premier League. In only his second season though, his methods are reportedly already falling flat with players on the training ground. That's manifested itself in a string of less-than-impressive results, most recently in a 4-2 Manchester derby loss to United and a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace last week. The Chilean, it seems, might not be around to see young Sterling arrive at the Etihad.

Ostensibly, Pellegrini's replacement will be Pep Guardiola, who's guiding Bayern Munich to another easy run at this season's Bundesliga crown and is in prime position to reach the Champions League semifinals if they can see off Porto in their quarterfinal tie.

The City Football Group and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak have long been fans of the Spanish boss and have not given up hope that they can somehow lure Guardiola away from Munich before his contract ends after next season.Watch this space, indeed.