Valencia are confident defender Ezequiel Garay will extend his contract at the club and have held meetings this week.
Marca outline how the player and Anil Murthy met in Saudi Arabia this week after the club’s Spanish Supercopa loss to Real Madrid, with a new two-year deal on the table.
The experienced central defender celebrated his 33rd birthday in October but he remains a key figure for Los Che, for whom he has started 20 matches this campaign.
He is out of contract at the Mestalla in the summer – the only member of the first-team squad to be so – and the club are keen to extend the deal.
“Ideally, this situation will be resolved quickly and suitably for all parties,” Valencia boss Albert Celades told a press conference recently, as cited by Marca.
“These things happen, I have talked to Garay, he is an experienced player, it is not the first time this has happened and we understand that he will be able to deal with it in a professional way, as always.”
Garay moved to the Mestalla in the summer of 2016 from Zenit Saint Petersburg and counts Racing Santander, Real Madrid and Benfica among his former clubs.
It is claimed by recent reports that Lyon have identified him as a replacement for defender and club captain Marcelo, who has had a fallout with the French club’s ultras.
Diario AS draws on reports from French outlet Le Parisien that Lyon are interested in a deal but it is claimed that the player himself has no intentions of leaving the Mestalla in the January transfer window.
Garay has played a pivotal role in helping Valencia to successive top four spots and to last season’s Copa del Rey crown.
