Aguero Close To Extend His City Contract – Guardiola

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

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 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, will miss Saturday’s Premier League home match against Bournemouth as he serves 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 Stadium.

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 effectively ruled playmaker David Silva out of Saturday’s match with a knock.

He is considering whether Ilkay Gundogan can play two games in a week so soon after returning from a serious knee injury.

Gundogan, signed from Borussia Dortmund for 20 million pounds ($26.5 million, 23.5 million euros) during the close season, made a belated City debut on Wednesday with Silva absent.

– Kompany ‘close’ –

“I think tomorrow he (Silva) will not be able to play,” Guardiola said.

“I haven’t seen the doctor and David. I don’t think it’s a big problem, but it happened two days ago so I don’t think he will be able (to play).

“I don’t know if Ilkay can play again so quickly. I’ve been thinking about it since two days ago. He played well, but we cannot forget that he comes (back) from a long-term injury.

“We will see tomorrow. Today we are going to see the doctor and we will decide.”

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 percent 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, full-backs, goalkeepers. We need everybody.”