Guardiola: We Need to Assess De Bruyne Before Extending His Contract

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola stated on Friday that the club needs to assess Kevin De Bruyne’s fitness and performance before making a decision about extending his contract, which expires in June.

The 33-year-old Belgian has scored two goals and provided two assists this season.

De Bruyne scored one goal and assisted another in City’s 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest last month, his only contribution since returning to full fitness in November after recovering from a hamstring injury.

Guardiola told reporters ahead of the match against West Ham United on Saturday: “Extension is not my responsibility. He has had problems over the last year and a half, like several other players. But when he maintains his level and is fit, he is a really important and decisive player for us. Now it’s about the performance he gives us until the end of the season. It’s also about his age and other factors, so I think the club needs to think about it.”

City has only won two of their last 14 matches in all competitions, with the win over Forest earlier in December being their first after seven consecutive games without a victory. They failed to win in five consecutive matches after that before defeating Leicester City 2-0 last Sunday.

Goalkeeper Ederson, defenders John Stones and Ruben Dias, and midfielder Matheus Nunes missed the Leicester win, and Guardiola said they are not expected to return for the upcoming match.

Guardiola said, “The situation is similar to what we faced in Leicester. Dias is improving but not ready for tomorrow’s match. Ederson felt better in training; he trained for the first time without feeling any issue in his leg.”

Regarding strengthening the squad in the January transfer window, Guardiola said, “It’s not easy, we may sign players, we may not, and the club has to be wise. We’re not doing this just to add players to the squad.”

Guardiola added that he hopes midfielder Rodri will return from his ACL injury before the end of the season, but his main focus is ensuring that the Ballon d’Or-winning player is properly rehabilitated for next season.

West Ham, in 13th place, will be without striker Michail Antonio, who broke his leg in a car accident last month.

West Ham has not lost in four consecutive league matches before suffering a heavy 5-0 defeat to Liverpool days ago.

The team will also miss their top scorer this season, Jarrod Bowen, who suffered a broken left foot during the Liverpool match.