There is a feeling within the Manchester City first-team of a pending decision on Pep Guardiola's future at the club, a new report has detailed over the weekend.
The Catalan coach is into his seventh season with the reigning Premier League champions, having joined the club back in the summer of 2016.
After four Premier League titles, amongst a host of numerous other domestic successes, supporters are hoping for a stay that edges closer to a decade at the club.
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Should that happen however, then Pep Guardiola will have to sign another extension to his existing Etihad terms.
The Manchester City boss has always stressed that a large part of any decision on his future at the football club will be based around his players' desire and ability to retain the ideology and style implemented by him.
In an encouraging update on that front, Guardiola said after the weekend's dramatic 2-1 win over Fulham in the Premier League, "What I am proud of most and I have said it many times, after seven years we can still perform at this level like we have performed this season."
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He continued, "They give me what they are, what they are during six or seven years. They have done it many times over many, many years in this league, in England, the toughest league by far all around the world. Still there. Still there. Still there.
"After winning four Premier Leagues in five years, still they're doing what they have done so far, that’s the biggest title we can get as a team and as a club."
But while the latest comments will give Manchester City supporters plenty of hope that their head coach will prolong his stay beyond the end of the season, a level of uncertainty will remain until pen is put to paper.
With that being said however, there is a sense of optimism within the first-team camp regarding Pep Guardiola's future, a report has detailed in recent days.
According to the information of the Mail's Jack Gaughan, Pep Guardiola is expected to decide his Manchester City future during the World Cup - which begins later this month.
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It is detailed that the City boss' wife, Cristina will have a 'huge' say in what happens next, after moving back to Barcelona in 2019 to manage her business.
However, while a formal decision is yet to be made, the report reveals that there is a belief among those around the first-team at the Etihad Stadium that they are working for a manager who does not appear ready to leave the club.
In fact, it is highlighted that there are 'whispers' of a two-year contract extension for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, while the club themselves are 'planning ahead' on the assumption that their current manager stays put.
Preparations for the summer transfer window of 2023 are already underway at the Etihad Stadium, it is understood.
Key transfer officials are set to target a new central midfielder and full-back, alongside potential other market opportunities throughout the window.
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Whether or not Pep Guardiola will be involved in such transfer planning remains to be seen, although the club continue to be linked with athletes that the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich man is an admirer of.
Featured Image Credit: PA Images / AlamyTopics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Manchester City Transfer News & Rumours, Premier League, Football, Transfers