James Milner has told Manchester City that he is keen to stay at the Etihad Stadium.
The midfielder is out of contract in the summer, and although City have offered him a new deal he has been reluctant to sign because he did not start enough games last season.
However, Milner has become a pivotal member of Manuel Pellegrini's team in recent weeks and has suggested that he will commit his future to the Premier League champions.
"I've loved every minute here and I still enjoy it," he told The Sun. "I have always said: 'Why would you want to leave a club like this if you don't have to?'"
Milner, who was signed from Aston Villa in 2010, started only 12 league games last season but has featured in City's last seven matches -- starting five -- and has been praised for his performances.
He added: "I've played a lot of football, and that's nice. With the players we've got here, you can't expect to play every game.
"It's never going to be easy. You want to play as much as you can then force the manager to keep you in the side."
Milner believes it is vital that City retain a group of British players if they are to carry on winning the Premier League.
The 28-year-old, goalkeeper Joe Hart and on-loan Frank Lampard are the only three English players to feature regularly for City after Gareth Barry, Joleon Lescott and Jack Rodwell all left.
Micah Richards, who is on loan at Fiorentina and in the final year of his contract, has said he does not expect to play for City again.
Milner added: "With any league in the world, the most successful clubs always seem to have a core of players from their own country.
"You look at the teams who have done well in the Premier League and most have had an English core. I think it's important. If you are in Spain, then I think you should have a Spanish core.
"If you're playing away from home at Hull in January, it's cold and wet -- that's different to playing in other countries.
"You need a good mix of homegrown players and the foreign lads, and we've had that at City. I think we've got a really good balance here at the moment, and hopefully that will be the case in the long term."