Currently in his third season on loan from the Premier League giants at their Australian satellite, the 28-year-old former Brisbane Roar mainstay is approaching a career crossroads.
He has yet to enter discussions over remaining at City, and is at an age where a lucrative contract in the K-League - where he could stand to earn as much as $650,000 a year - might be hard to resist.
Brattan has yet to taste life outside the A-League, other than a brief loan spell at Bolton Wanderers in 2016.
He was sent there immediately after being signed by Manchester City.
Though he trained with Bolton’s senior squad he didn’t make a senior appearance prior to returning to Australia to join Melbourne City.
His relationship with hardline coach Warren Joyce has at times been strained - he was briefly out of favour earlier this season - but those tensions have now eased.
Brattan has made 15 appearances so far this season and offers plenty to Joyce with his passing range and vision.
However, with the arrival of rookie speedster Shayon Harrison on loan from Tottenham - not to mention gun striker Jamie Maclaren from Hibernian - City have a surplus of midfielders and might be tempted to allow Brattan to depart should a formal offer be tabled, with Korea’s transfer window open until March 22.
Conversely, he could remain under the club’s umbrella by signing a new stand-alone deal with City in the coming months. His current deal expires at the end of May.
City officials said there had been no approach for Brattan from the Korea Republic when contacted by The World Game, adding that he had not expressed a desire to leave the club.
