Pep Guardiola has little time for reputations, as Joe Hart will no doubt testify.

The Manchester City boss is expected to make big changes to his squad come the end of the season, deeming the measly £174million spent last summer insufficient to mount a title challenge.

Pablo Zabaleta, Yaya Toure, and Bacary Sagna are just three of the 18 players at risk in the Catalan's cull, the Guardian claimed last month.

However, while City fans shouldn't lose too much sleep over losing the ageing trio, they will be much more concerned about speculation linking Sergio Aguero with a move away from the Etihad.

The Argentine is no longer untouchable, despite having scored 18 league goals this season. Only Romelu Lukaku, Harry Kane, Diego Costa, and Alexis Sanchez have netted more.

Yet the two-time Premier League title winner has started just 23 of City's 35 league games. That's partly because of injuries, but partly because he is now competing with Brazilian wonderkid Gabriel Jesus for a starting berth.

At 28, this is not a time in Aguero's career when he can afford to be sidelined. It's also a matter of ego, as it's perfectly understandable that a player of his calibre wants to be the main striker at his club.

Amid all this uncertainty, the Sunday Times put out an audacious report that the former Atletico Madrid star would be approached by Manchester United as they step up their search for Zlatan Ibrahimovic's replacement.

City would be reluctant to sell to their rivals, but if United were to front up the money and Aguero was keen, it would put Guardiola in a very difficult position indeed.

What's putting Aguero off? 

Fortunately, that's not going to happen. Aguero is not interested in linking up with Jose Mourinho, though surprisingly, it's not because the Red Devils are facing an uphill struggle to qualify for the Champions League.

The Daily Mail suggest that he will turn down United if they come calling, but it's due to the simple fact that he doesn't want to tarnish his glowing reputation with City fans.

Denis Law, Carlos Tevez, Owen Hargreaves are some of the few players to have crossed the Manchester divide, but Aguero would quite possibly be the most controversial yet.

It makes a move to either Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain more likely, especially as City will be far more comfortable letting him go if he moves abroad.

Are City crazy to let Aguero leave? Have your say in the comments.