Al Rayyan’s Spanish striker Sergio Garcia (front) heads the ball during their Qatar Stas League match against El Jaish at Al Sadd Stadium in this October 2016 file picture.
Sergio Garcia is expected to continue his stay with Qatar Stars League (QSL) Al Rayyan who reportedly have rejected a mid-season transfer 'offer from Spanish giants Espanyol'.
According to a report yesterday, Al Rayyan is keen to continue utilising the services of the former Espanyol forward who arrived in Qatar more than 18 months ago.
With the team set to feature in the AFC Champions League this season, Al Rayyan have expressed the desire to retain their 33-year-old star striker for the remainder of the season.
A report in top Arabic daily Al Sharq yesterday said Al Rayyan may even extend their contract with Garcia who was seen with agent Magico Diaz at a La Liga game between Espanyol and Sevilla on Sunday.
In a report posted on www.sport-english.com, it was claimed that Sergio's return to Espanoyol was 'imminent'.
After Al Rayyan's QSL match against Al Khairaitiyat earlier this week, coach Michael Laudrup said he hoped Garcia 'would stay' with the team because of difficulty of getting a suitable replacement at this time of the football season around the world, the report added. Garcia, who appeared for Spain at Euro 2008, missed the last Al Rayyan game through suspension after picking up another yellow card in a game against Al Sailiyah the previous round. He is expected to play Al Rayyan's next QSL game against Al Ahli.
Meanwhile, QSL league leaders Lekhiwya have been handed a major boost to their squad ahead of their Friday's match against Al Khor.
The club confirmed that three first team players are set to return to the squad. Both Yusef Msakni and leading scorer Yusef El Arabi will return to first team training after both Tunisia and Morocco were eliminated from the African Cup of nations over the weekend.
