MAN CITY NOTEBOOK: Pep Guardiola's leaders establish a new chain of command, while Girona near Champions League qualification... and it could spell danger at the Etihad

There is a new hierarchy at Manchester City – and it’s been laid out on the tarmac at their training ground.

Notebook has been told that Pep Guardiola’s five-man leadership group – Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Rodri and Bernardo Silva – recently came up with a different chain of command.

Not out on the grass or in the gym, but the car park. It’s now a more regimented place, with specific spots for players based on their status and longevity.

Everybody has their own numbered bay these days and the likes of Mateo Kovacic, Matheus Nunes and Jeremy Doku are further away from the entrance than those who have been with the club throughout the successes under Guardiola.

Walker and Co, the old timers, clearly felt the potential perk needed cementing and it’s not a rule that has ever been in situ before. Perhaps those who do extra work before training were nicking all the prime spots.

Guardiola’s is obviously safe from the new system. His £47,000 electric Nissan Ariya, the latest in a line of vehicles while manager, rolls in where he’s always been.

Walker has just got himself a new electric BYD so there might be a tussle for chargers in the first-team car park, with some wryly noting how those are just that bit quicker than in other areas of the campus.

GOOD NEWS ON THE INJURY FRONT 

Some good news for Guardiola this week with both Phil Foden and Ruben Dias back in training. The pair had missed Sunday’s victory at Nottingham Forest through illness. Ederson, who had left the City Ground with his left arm in a sling, has been present and the Brazilian hopes to play again this season.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HEADACHE LOOMING?  

Girona secured European qualification last month – and UEFA’s new rules on multi-club ownership mean they will definitely be able to feature in a different European competition to sister club City.

The Catalans can definitely play in either the Europa League or Conference League but have aspirations of something grander. And that’s when the suits get involved.

Third in the table and 13 points ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, Champions League qualification can be sealed this coming weekend if they were to beat local rivals Barcelona at home. They’d also leapfrog Barca back into second.

Were that to happen, UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) will sit to determine whether both Girona and City can be registered for next year’s expanded competition.

The crux of whether the two CFG teams could compete in the Champions League alongside each other lies with proving that there is no executive control or information sharing.

UEFA’s article 5 reads that no participating club, ‘be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition.’

Were the CFCB to rule against the CFG clubs, whoever finishes higher in their respective domestic division would take the Champions League spot. Let’s leave the permutations if they both finish second for another day.

URUGUAYAN STAR HEADING TO THE CFG 

Speaking of Girona, it appears they are on the lookout for the next Savio. Luciano Rodriguez, Uruguay’s next big attacking talent, is on their list ahead of the summer.

The Liverpool Montevideo winger scored the winner in last year’s Under-20 World Cup final against Italy and earned senior recognition under Marcelo Bielsa in March.

Although that goal in the final was a poacher’s header, Rodriguez is renowned for the spectacular and a free-kick specialist. A rough diamond, Feyenoord was close to landing him last year and are expected to rival Girona this time too.

Brazilian champions Palmeiras – where Gabriel Jesus came through – are also tracking the 20-year-old.

Rodriguez has 13 goals for Liverpool this term and predominantly plays off the right wing. He could switch flanks with a move to Europe given the use of inverted wingers. Rodriguez’s representative, Paulo Pitombeira of Talents Sports, has strong links with CFG.

City are signing Savio and, as Notebook has detailed, are set to make a decision on where his development is best served ahead of next season.

RED FACES ON THE BLUE SIDE OF MANCHESTER 

So there will be no music and football clash on the Etihad Campus this weekend after the doomed opening of the Co-op Live Arena took another casualty. American singer-song writer Olivia Rodrigo has seen her shows cancelled. This town clearly wasn’t big enough for two Rodrigos.

She had been due to perform on Saturday night, with her fans in theory flooding into the arena during City’s match against Wolves. The intrigue of how the logistics of hosting two simultaneous events works will have to wait.

Rodrigo’s show was canned after it was believed that hours before A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie set on Wednesday, an air conditioning unit fell from the ceiling and fans were told to leave the area. Red faces on the blue side of the city.

ADAM'S LEAP OF FAITH

Highly-rated midfielder Josh Adam is set to leave City on a free transfer at the end of the season.

Adam made the switch from Celtic four years ago and has impressed a various levels, often asked to train up with Guardiola’s first-team squad.

The Scotland Under-21 international has spent the past two seasons playing for Brian Barry-Murphy’s Elite Development squad and wants to challenge himself in the senior game.

Known for his creativity in attacking areas, the 20-year-old is taking the leap and plying his trade elsewhere. He’ll leave City having won both the Under-18 Premier League and Under-21 division.

Notebook understands that there is early interest from clubs in the Bundesliga and the Belgian Pro League as sides on the continent search for bargains from the Premier League.

Adam is thought to be enthused at the prospect of attempting to emulate some of Britain’s brightest young stars on the now well-trodden path of developing in Europe.