AGUERO CLOSE TO NEW CITY DEAL, SAYS GUARDIOLA

These are players you want to stay because they have the passion to play at the club. We cannot disguise his (Aguero) quality. Pep Guardiola

LONDON: Striker Sergio Aguero is close to agreeing a contract extension with Manchester City, manager Pep Guardiola revealed.

City are due to announce that the Argentina international has agreed a one-year extension to his current deal, which will commit him to the club until 2020.

Guardiola said on Friday he was “so, so happy” about the news. “I don’t know if I am the right person to talk about that,” the City manager added. “I think he’s going to extend his contract, but it’s not official.”

Aguero, who joined City from Atletico Madrid in 2011, missed yesterday’s English Premier League home match against Bournemouth as he served the second game of a three-match domestic suspension.

But he proved his quality yet again on Wednesday, scoring his second hat-trick of the season as Borussia Moenchengladbach were beaten 4-0 in the Champions League at the Etihad.

It took his tally for the season to nine goals in just five games. “He’s a good player, no?” Guardiola said.

“These are players you want to stay because they have the passion to play at the club. We cannot disguise his quality. If he stays, I will be so, so happy.”

Guardiola has won all seven of his competitive matches since his appointment as City manager and his team are currently leading the Premier League.

But even with a 100% start to his career in England, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach says he is not satisfied.

He said: “Half an hour after a game has finished, one hour, sometimes three or four hours, we are so happy. But after that you start to think again about the next one. “I’m not thinking about what we did in the past: our four games in the Premier League, our three games in the Champions League. “I’m thinking about what’s going to happen tomorrow: what I have to tell, what I have to do, what do I have to train for them to be ready for our game.”

City continue to be without captain Vincent Kompany, who is recovering from groin and thigh surgery and has not played since May.

“He’s close, but not yet,” Guardiola said.

“We need him. It’s a lot of games and we need all the central defenders, strikers, wingers, attacking midfielders, holding midfielders, fullbacks, goalkeepers. We need everybody.” — AFP