Manchester City are reportedly trying to take advantage of their time off by negotiating new deals with star players Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne.
With the Premier League season suspended for the foreseeable future, clubs are turning their attentions towards off-the-field matters, and City are focusing on ensuring arguably their two most important assets are not tempted away.
Both Sterling and De Bruyne currently have lucrative deals which run until 2023, but City want them to commit their long-term futures to the club.
And according to The Sun talks with the pair have accelerated, and they could both sign new deals in the weeks to come.
With City currently banned from European competition for two seasons pending an appeal there had been doubts over whether their best players would wish to stay at the club.
They remain confident that the ban will be either overturned or reduced, however, and there has as yet been no indication that either Sterling or De Bruyne wish to leave, despite rumours linking them with Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona .
Sterling has not been in his best form recently, and has not been able to match last season with just 11 goals and one assist in the Premier League during the current campaign.
Nevertheless, he is still a favourite with both manager Pep Guardiola and City fans, and is likely to stay at Eastlands for at least a few years yet, despite previously admitting a move to Spain would interest him in the future.
De Bruyne, meanwhile, is a strong contender for the Player of the Year award following his stunning displays for City, and he is arguably now one of the best players in his position in the world.
He has scored eight goals and created 16 assists in the Premier League, and would be a huge loss if he ever decided to leave City.
