Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 9y

Manuel Pellegrini hopes to extend Frank Lampard's loan at Man City

MANCHESTER -- Manuel Pellegrini has admitted Manchester City "need" to keep Frank Lampard as they wait to discover if his loan spell at the Etihad Stadium will be extended.

The City manager believes it would be "better" for the 36-year-old to stay with the Premier League champions, rather than depart to link up with New York City FC as they prepare for their inaugural Major League Soccer season.

Lampard, who has scored five goals for City, is on loan for the first half of the season but could leave in January just as Yaya Toure departs for the African Nations Cup, where he will represent Ivory Coast.

Pellegrini said in a news conference: "Before December finishes we will have a decision but I think Frank is a very important player for us and I hope we will not have any problems for him to stay here. But I cannot say just from one side what will happen with him. He's as very important player for us and we need him at this moment."

Lampard, who is Chelsea's record goal-scorer with 211, opted to sign for the new American club after leaving Stamford Bridge after 13 years this summer.

"Frank Lampard has decided it is best for him in the future," Pellegrini said. "Maybe playing so many years with Chelsea, he has decided the best way to continue was out of England.

"In that moment, he received our offer [to come to City on loan] and his thought I suppose -- I just suppose -- that he was coming on to an important team and could continue playing in high competitions.

"He couldn't start in the US until January or February, so prefers to stay here until December. If he can finish the year here, better. He's 36-years-old so maybe the intensity is not the same in the MLS as here in England.

"But I think that the MLS is a very important league also and I think that Frank Lampard will be very happy in the United States also."

Pellegrini has not ruled out signing another striker in January after City were reduced to three centre-forwards when Alvaro Negredo joined Valencia on the final day of the transfer window and then one of that trio, top scorer Sergio Aguero, suffered a knee injury.

He explained: "I never close any window about anything we can do to give us an advantage. If all the teams can do it, we can do it also. If we are thinking about that -- at this moment we're not -- we will analyse in the moment what we are going to do.

"You remember, when Alvaro was sold in August, I said there were a lot of reasons why we made that decision. Alvaro couldn't play until the middle of November because he was injured, so it was just one-and-a-half months [when he would have been available before the window opened again] and in January we will see if we need to replace him or not. Now we are in that moment we are going to make the best decision for the club."

In Aguero's absence, Edin Dzeko, who has not scored in his last 10 appearances for City, is set to lead the line against Leicester on Saturday as Pellegrini urged the Bosnian to end his drought.

He said: "We trust a lot in Edin. He had a very good season last season with us. He just renewed his contract, he did that because we trust in him, now it is his moment to try to score goals and try to return to the performance level he had before he was injured."

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