Frank Lampard's loan spell at Manchester City is due to end in January but the Premier League champions might want to delay his departure across the Atlantic to enhance their chances of fighting his old club for the title.
The 36-year-old midfielder, who left Chelsea to join New York City FC before a surprise return in light City blue, showed his priceless knack of being in the right place at the right time again on Saturday to seal a 4-2 victory at Hull City.
Coming off the bench, Lampard struck after 86 minutes to ensure no late drama for a City side for whom Edin Dzeko scored twice and Sergio Aguero once.
Last Sunday, Lampard scored a late equaliser against Chelsea, the club with whom he won three Premier League titles, and he was at it again in midweek with a double in the 7-0 thrashing of Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup.
With Chelsea motoring at the top of the table with five wins from six games, City boss Manuel Pellegrini will need every weapon at his disposal to keep pace and securing Lampard's goal-scoring skills for a few months longer would be real fillip as they balance the demands of the Champions League.
"I wouldn't want to get too ahead of myself; it's not my place to do that. That will obviously be a club decision first and foremost," Lampard said in the week when asked whether his stay in the north west could be extended.
Pellegrini has already hinted that an agreement could be made with City's affiliate club in New York so that Lampard could prolong his stay, perhaps to March.
While City failed to strengthen their attacking options in the transfer window, they still have potent options up front with Dzeko and Aguero looking razor sharp on Saturday.
The Chilean said he was delighted with the chances his side created, even if an accident-prone display by expensive defensive signing Eliaquim Mangala made City work harder for victory at Hull than he would have liked ahead of a crucial midweek Champions League game against Roma.
"During the week when we scored seven goals against Sheffield Wednesday I felt that the team was released (in front of goal) and so today we repeated that against a very good team that defended very well," he told City's website.
"I am very happy for the fans, I think it is important for them to see the team play in this way. I think they enjoyed last season and we hope it can be the same this year."
