Manchester City are wary of the sensitivity of extending Frank Lampard's loan from New York City FC.

The Daily Mail says City are confident that Lampard's loan from their US sister club New York City will be extended until at least mid-February and possibly for the rest of the season.

It is understood that the timing of the announcement is particularly sensitive, with New York preparing for their debut season in Major League Soccer and Lampard a central figure in their plans both on and off the pitch.

"It's an internal reason that's not important," said City manager Manuel Pellegrini. "The important thing is that Frank Lampard stays here. Yes, I'm confident he'll stay but I can't say 100 per cent because it doesn't depend just on me.

"It's not so easy because Frank is a New York City player. He's only on loan until December so we must respect the other people.

"One of the reasons we asked Frank to play here was because we knew Yaya would be leaving us to go to the Africa Cup of Nations.

"Yaya will go around January 5-10. We are not exactly sure of the dates but I think maybe the FA Cup game will be the last one. You always want to retain the best players here but you know the rules."