Manuel Pellegrini has echoed comments from Yaya Toure's agent that Manchester City wants him to remain with the club long-term.

The 31-year-old was noncommittal about his future in a January interview before agent Dimitri Seluk came out and said his client, whose current deal expires in 2017, wants to remain in Manchester.

"That means that Yaya's very happy here," he said in a news conference. "He's a player who has a lot of criticism this year, always thinking that he wants to go but what you are telling me is just the opposite.

"He's very happy here, he's an important player for us so we will see what will happen in the future."