Frank Lampard to extend loan spell with Manchester City to provide cover for Yaya Toure's absence

Frank Lampard has reportedly agreed to extend his loan spell with Manchester City beyond his current deal which was supposed to end on 31 December.

According to the Mirror, the English midfielder, who left Chelsea this summer, is contracted to City owned franchise New York City FC in the MLS, but came to the Premier League on-loan in the summer. He has had an impressive spell at the Manchester-based club so far and manager Manuel Pellegrini is keen for him to stay on until the MLS season starts in March.

The former Chelsea midfielder has scored six goals in 15 appearances for City including one against his old club Chelsea in the Premier League.

The Chilean manager has revealed that no decision has been made on the midfielder's future, but is hoping that he can remain with the club past his December 31 deadline.

"It's not so easy because Frank is a New York City player. He is only on loan until December 31, so we must respect the other people," Pellegrini said, as quoted by the Mirror.

"I repeat that Frank is very important for our team so I hope he will stay here. The reason [for the delay in a final decision on his future] is not important - the important thing is that he stays here."

"Yes, I am confident he'll stay, but I can't say 100 per cent because it doesn't depend just on me."

With Yaya Toure departing for the African Cup of Nations in January, the manager is keen for Lampard to remain with the club until the Ivory Coast international returns from the tournament.

"One of the reasons we asked him [Lampard] to play here was because we knew Yaya would be leaving us to go to the African Cup of Nations," the Chilean explained.

"Yaya will go between January 5 to 10. We're not exactly sure of the dates, but I think he will play in the FA Cup third round and then go in the second week of January," Pellegrini added.