Manchester City sporting director Txiki Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano are set for a contract war with four senior players.

The People says as the powerful pair go looking for new faces, they have sparked more turmoil behind the scenes by stalling on new contract deals for FOUR of the City's current stars.

Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry and James Milner have just 18 months left on their deals but so far there have been no moves to open ­negotiations.

That has left some players believing manager Roberto Mancini's own position is far from clear cut and that club chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak and his senior ­management team are waiting to see how the second half of the season unfolds before ­entering into talks with players.

Barry, 32 in February, is most at risk, along with Tevez, who is ­unlikely to be offered - or want - a new deal.