In a matter of weeks he is down to the final 18months of his contract.
Once that happens the selling club is in a weaker position and the amount you can demand in transfer money diminishes.
So very soon we need to make a decision.
1) Tout him around and look for bids in January.
2) Offer him a new contract which will likely mean a significant wage rise.
3) Let him run it down to 12months and roll the dice in the summer knowing if we can't agree a new deal we will get a fraction of his value if any at all.
There are a few factors at play here.
It has been reported Manchester City have a significant sell on fee clause so whatever we get we don't keep it all.
It's also been reported that his wages range from anywhere between £40-60k a week at present.
So you probably need somewhere in the £80k a week mark to get him to stay and even that may not be enough if someone like Newcastle has contacted him as they would think nothing of giving him £100k a week.
And of course he will be aware the club wanted big money in the summer and would expect any deal to reflect that.
Selling him in January though could create unrest in the stands, a here we go again response.
And he was bright early season and if we sold him and then he rediscovered the form it would be a bit sickening.
That being said there is the nagging doubt he isn't quite a fit for Marsch (hence him being shoehorned right side as a narrow inverted winger).
So what should we do?
What sort of fee (if any) would you take?
Would you give him a new deal?
