Pep Guardiola is hopeful that Fernandinho will play a major role for Manchester City this season.
The newly-appointed club captain, taking over from David Silva, started his first game since September in the Champions League stalemate with Porto in midweek where he provided his typical trademark bite to midfield alongside Rodri.
Fernandinho is out of contract at the end of the campaign and has hinted that this could be his last year in Manchester. Guardiola made no secret of the importance of the captain but insisted that he does not make the final decision on whether the player will be offered a new deal.
Having established himself as the most reliable centre-back option last season, Guardiola has preferred to use him in midfield so far this season and expects that role to continue.
"It is not necessary to say how important he is for all of us and me personally. The last game against Porto showed his incredible personality. We need Fernandinho a lot this season because we have just two holding midfielders and he knows the position perfectly.
"Last season he helped us a lot in a position where we didn't have much players with injuries so he is coming back to his position because we now have five central defenders. Whatever happens in the middle of the season or three-quarters of the way through or at the end of the season, him and the club are going to talk about it [a contract]."
