Due diligence leaves City in strong position over contracts at Etihad
ONE of the many issues FIFA have had to try to work through is that of player contracts.
June 30 is set as a date for the expiry of player contracts because that is normally far enough after seasons have finished, but these are not normal times.
There are no guarantees that the 2019/20 campaign will be completed - as the FA chairman warned - let alone be finished by the beginning of July.
In an ideal world players would be able to finish the season with the teams they were expected to as the FIFA proposals on Tuesday evening laid out but the uncertainty has caused headaches for many.
Take Odion Ighalo, for example. The striker has made a positive impact on United since signing on loan in January and would like to help complete their push into the top four, but parent club Shanghai Shenhua would like him back and a deal will have to be struck.
Not so City. The Blues have three players out of contract this summer including loans: David Silva, Claudio Bravo and Scott Carson.
It would be a shame to lose Silva without a proper farewell after the memories he has made at the Etihad but the loss of playing without him to finish the season would be more sentimental than footballing, while backup goalkeepers are not essential members of the team.
It is a similar story moving into 2021. Leroy Sane is the obvious exception, with uncertainty remaining around his future but that has been on the cards for at least a year while the contract on the table from City has been neither signed nor rejected.
Sergio Aguero is also out of contract next summer, although the Argentine has signed a number of extensions through his time at the Etihad and there is no panic at the club about committing him to another.
Fernandinho will be 36 by next May but has shown this season that new deals can be penned in the final years of his career
No other first team players at City are out of contract in the next two years.
City have been prompt and meticulous in getting players to commit to the club for longer, with key assets Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling tied up until 2023 and Ederson, Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte under contract until 2025.
Pep Guardiola has credited Txiki Begiristain and the scouting team with 80 per cent of the team’s success in recent years for picking the right characters to come to the club.
Having brought them to City, Begiristain and his team have helped the club out for the uncertainty ahead by leaving little urgent work to be done around player contracts when football does resume.
Even if the FIFA proposals iron out the problems for others, it is an issue City have not had to spend time thinking about because of their earlier diligence.