City Watch: Pep agrees new deal to stay at Man City

I’m not often in the position where I have to re-write this column the night before it’s due to be published. However, the best news we could’ve hoped for was announced on Tuesday evening.

Possibly the most anticipated headline across football, Pep Guardiola has agreed to a new contract at Manchester City. An official announcement is yet to be confirmed, but reports suggest that it’s a done deal.

I will take the opportunity later on in the column to talk about the international break, but first, I feel it’s too important to skip over the Pep news. Over the last few months, there has been so much speculation as to whether Guardiola would stay at the Etihad, especially as by the time his contract was due to run out at the end of the season, he would’ve been at the club for nine years.

Coupled with the looming 115 charges and the potential repercussions on the club and what it could mean for the league position, it really seemed like the worst could happen and Pep would bow out.

But whatever the reason, whether it’s loyalty, stability or just simply the drive to carry on, the Spaniard has agreed to stay in Manchester.

The deal itself is for one more year, with the option to extend for another year. This pushes his time at the Etihad to over a decade. Over a decade. Just think about that. His achievements speak for themselves but I think I speak for a lot of City fans when I say he can stay as long as he wants.

Even Pep himself said at the end of last season that he was closer to leaving than to staying. Maybe that was another one of his red herrings, a bit like when he said Sergio Agüero couldn’t be replaced, to then just one season later replace him with Erling Haaland.

As much as I’d love to speak about the new deal for this entire column, I would like to touch on the international break too. There’s really not much to talk about from a City point of view, as most players originally called up dropped out.

Kyle Walker and Rico Lewis both made appearances in the final break of 2024, where England defeated Greece 3-0 and Ireland 5-0 to top their Nations League group and win promotion. One honourable mention though was ex-City player Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who came on to replace Walker and score his first England goal.

Club football returns this weekend with City facing Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad. Following four defeats on the bounce, Pep’s new contract will surely give the players a boost to best Spurs on Saturday.