Pep Guardiola set to open talks with Manchester City over new contract

Pep Guardiola is reportedly eager to extend his contract with Manchester City beyond 2019 and talks could begin in the summer.

The Catalan signed a three-year deal when he joined City at the beginning of last season and while neither his representatives nor the club have formally opened negotiations over extending the current contract, Guardiola is understood to be eager to remain at the Etihad.

According to the Daily Mail, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager remains focussed on winning his first trophy in England but his camp believes negotiations should be fairly smooth, given his relationship with the club's hierarchy.

The 46-year-old earns around £15m per season and is understood to be enjoying his life in Manchester, with his family comfortable in their apartment in the city centre.

Should Guardiola stay at the Etihad beyond 2019, it would raise the prospect of City becoming the club he has spent the longest at, given he quit Barcelona and Bayern Munich after four and three years in charge respectively.

Guardiola's first campaign in the Premier League was also his first season as a manager in which he failed to win a single trophy, but City have looked formidable so far this term and few would bet against them adding a third Premier League crown to their cabinet.

City could briefly extend their lead at the top of the table to 11 points by the time Manchester United kick off against Newcastle United in the tea-time game on Saturday (18 November), if they win away against Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur fail to beat Arsenal at the Emirates in the day's early fixture.

The league leaders are the only Premier League side still unbeaten after winning 10 of their opening 11 fixtures, during which they have scored an astonishing 38 goals, 15 more than Manchester United, who boast the league's second best offensive record.

Meanwhile, City have confirmed Sergio Aguero will be assessed before the game against Leicester, after he suffered a dizzy spell at halftime during Argentina's friendly against Nigeria on Tuesday evening (14 November).

The 29-year-old was taken to the hospital shortly after the incident to undergo a series of precautionary tests but City insisted the striker never blacked out, despite reports suggesting otherwise.

"Sergio Aguero has been cleared by doctors to return to Manchester as planned after suffering a dizzy spell during Argentina's 4-2 defeat by Nigeria in Krasnodar," a club statement read.

"Sergio never lost consciousness, and was taken to hospital for precautionary medical checks.

"He will be assessed by the club's medical team ahead of this weekend's Premier League trip to Leicester City."

Aguero had scored Argentina's second goal, bringing his tally for the Albiceleste to 36, which saw him surpass Hernan Crespo and move into third spot in the country's all-time leading goalscorers' ranking.

Earlier this month, the Aguero broke City's goalscoring record after netting his 178th goal for the club in their 4-2 win at Napoli in the Champions League.