MANCHESTER City are confident of keeping their Georgian midfielder Georgi Kinkladze at Maine Road despite failing to stage a promotion bid this season.

City hope the 23-year-old international will stay to spearhead a promotion push back to the Premiership under manager Frank Clark next season, and are rumoured to be ready to make him the highest paid player in the club's history.

Kinkladze, a £2 million buy from Dynamo Tiblisi in the summer of 1995, has two years of his present contract to run and City chairman Francis Lee said: "I'm very optimistic that Gio will stay with us. He's very fond of Manchester City and the fans love him.

City fans recently voted Kinkladze the club's player of the year for the second season running.

Maine Road fans have also enlisted the support of the Georgian Embassy in a bid to convince Kinkladze that he should stay with the club.

The City chairman held intensive talks with Kinkladze yesterday in a bid to keep him at Maine Road.

Reports that Kinkladze's advisors have demanded a £1 million contract for a year, with 20 per cent of any fee if he is sold on, were rejected by Lee.

He said: "That's complete nonsense. We will be absolutely delighted to keep Gio at the club.

"He will get a year added to his present contract to take it up to the year 2000. He's a smashing lad. He loves living in the area. He tells me he loves the club and his team-mates, and we are delighted about that."