Should Frank Lampard extend his Manchester City stay?

Frank Lampard has had a big impact at Manchester City this season

Former-England midfielder Frank Lampard scored his 174^th Premier League goal in Manchester City’s comprehensive 3-0 win at high-flying Southampton on Sunday.

The 36-year-old is still producing vital goals at the top level, but could leave City in January.

Loan

Frank Lampard is only on-loan at Manchester City from MLS franchise New York City, who he joined in the summer after his contract with Chelsea expired and he left the Blues.

New York City is partly owned by City’s owners and are set to make their MLS debut January.

There have been reports that Lampard’s stay at the Etihad Stadium could be extended. Lampard stated after the game that he was not thinking that far ahead and had not yet held discussions over his future.

New York City are likely to want Lampard to be part of their team as they embark on their life in the top tier of football in the USA. The signing of Lampard was considered something of a coup for the MLS franchise and his presence on the pitch is likely to attract fans to watch his new team.

Important

Even in the veteran stage of his career Frank Lampard can play an important role for a Premier League club, as he proved by scoring City’s crucial second goal at Southampton. The goal basically finished the game as a contest, as Southampton never looked like getting back into the game after losing the second goal.

Legend

Frank Lampard is quite simply a Premier League legend and will always be remembered fondly by Chelsea fans in particularly. To score the amount of goals from midfielder that he has is unbelievable and it seems Lampard is not yet done with scoring Premier League goals.

Lampard has already scored five goals for City this season in all competitions and even when he has only played a bit-part in games he has had an influence on games. He is now just one Premier League goal behind Arsenal hero Thierry Henry in the all-time scorers chart.

Praise

Lampard’s City teammates have sung his praise in the past few days. City striker Sergio Aguero told Sky Sports: “He’s been a really important player for us – a key player,”

“Whether he starts the game or comes on in the second half, he’s played a really key role in most of the games he’s featured in.

“It would be fantastic if he could stay – he’s a Premier League legend – and it’s been a real pleasure for me to line up alongside him. I can always say that I played alongside Frank Lampard.

“It’s something the club will decide but if we could get him to stay longer, I think he could be the difference.”

City full-back Pablo Zabaleta added: “For me, what makes Frank Lampard special is how professional he is in training,”

“You see him at training. He is the first to arrive on the training ground and the last to go home. He won everything with Chelsea, he’s a legend in football and he’s still playing like he’s 18 years old.”

Hunger

Zabaleta hit the nail on the head when talking about Lampard’s professionalism. Even at 36 Lampard still has the desire and hunger to go out give his all and score goals in the Premier League.

It was the same desire and hunger that drove Lampard to become Chelsea’s all-time scorer. It was the same enthusiasm that led the midfielder to help Chelsea to three Premier League titles and a Champions League triumph.

Lampard is a great example to younger players in the game of how to stay at the top level for so long and how to behave in a professional manner, both on and off-the-pitch.

Key

Frank Lampard obviously still has a lot to offer Premier League football and as Aguero stated the midfielder could be a key player for the Citizens this season, even if he is not always on the pitch from the start he can make a big impact from the substitute bench.

Unknown

It is not yet known if Frank Lampard will extend his loan stay at Manchester City. However, it seems that everybody connected with City want it to happen and it seems the players Premier League’s story is far from finished.

Should Frank Lampard extend his Manchester City stay?