Reports today suggest that Manchester City are prepared to offer veteran midfielder Fernandinho a new one-year extension by the end of the year.
The Brazil international, currently preparing for his country’s Copa America Final against Peru, has just one-year left on his current deal and this week’s arrival of record signing, 23-year-old Spanish midfielder, Rodri from Atletico Madrid, had put some element of doubt into his future at the Etihad Stadium.
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A source from within the club is said to have told the Sun: “Everyone assumed a new midfielder coming in meant the end for Fernandinho. But that’s not the case as Pep knows what he brings both on and off the field.”
Fernandinho has made 273 appearances for the Citizens, a tally that sits him behind only David Silva and Sergio Aguero and it’s his experience and versatility that is a key component in the talk to offer him an extension “near Christmas time”.
A new deal will keep the 34-year-old at the club until 2021, with Pep Guardiola said to believe he still has plenty to offer, notably with his ability to drop into defence and play at centre-back.
Fernandinho joined the club from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2013 for £34million and his absence at the end of 2018 coincided with Manchester City’s slip-up in form that saw them suffer back-to-back defeats to Crystal Palace and Leicester City in the race for the Premier League.