Having made his first Premier League start during their home win over Brentford earlier this week, the Premier League champions’ plan is for the Norway international to sign a new long-term contract extension beyond the existing 2026 agreement to reflect his growing status within the senior side.
City wonderkid Bobb set for fresh terms
OSCAR Bobb is reportedly in-line for a contract extension at Manchester City, having gradually made his way into the first-team plans under Pep Guardiola and now reaching a stage where he’s a firm squad player for the European champions.
Bobb joined the Citizens‘ academy ranks in the summer of 2019 after spending four years in Valerenga’s youth sides before turning 16 and has patiently bided his time developing before being officially promoted last summer.
He scored six goals and created 16 assists in 25 Premier League 2 matches last term, helping the under-21 side win their third consecutive youth title while proving a seamless fit into the first-team furniture after Riyad Mahrez (Al-Ahli) and Cole Palmer (Chelsea) both departed for pastures new over the summer months.
Ajax and Porto were reportedly interested in signing him on a season-long loan deal, but Guardiola and his coaching staff were impressed to the point where they blocked such advances for a wonderkid who has grown considerably since.
As I covered earlier this month, he represents a bright spark that blossomed in the Champions League while the coaching staff have been impressed with his application in training sessions – that being rewarded by starting Tuesday’s 1-0 win.
Last month, Bobb also scored what proved to be the division’s goal of the month with an excellently taken stoppage-time winner off the bench during a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory away at Newcastle.
Per Daily Mail, the 20-year-old said: “Newcastle was one of the greatest of my life, honestly. This season has been a big step up. Playing in this team, it gets a lot easier because [while] you’re not always dominating, usually you see a lot of the ball.”
It’s not a revelation to note he isn’t a regular starter under Guardiola, though the internal plan is to integrate him into one ala Phil Foden during the England international’s own senior breakthrough five years ago.
As it stands, the Norway international is not viewed as a regular starter under Guardiola, nor is that likely to change during the remainder of this campaign.
Nonetheless, the Daily Mail’s Jack Gaughan wrote an exclusive story yesterday on how the player is happy to commit his long-term future to City and that the two sides are close to agreeing terms but reports claim they have been for months.
The Daily Star wrote in mid-October that Bobb would sign a six-year extension, following fellow academy graduate Rico Lewis by penning long-term terms.
He’ll have a wage increase and more responsibility as his level of seniority heightens, challenging the likes of Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku for a regular starting berth. Bobb is a year younger than the latter, a £52m signing from Rennes in August.
The 18-cap Belgium international hasn’t played poorly of late but gone eight games without a goal involvement across all competitions, dating back to his goal off the bench in their 5-0 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Huddersfield on January 7.
It’ll be interesting to see who Guardiola selects with fixtures coming thick-and-fast, starting away at Bournemouth before Luton Town entertain them in the FA Cup’s last-16 three days later. Bobb being considered is testament to his progression.
Picture source: Getty Images
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