Al Ain: Can't plan future with Gyan or Al-Qahtani just yet

Al Ain first team supervisor HE Mohammed Obeid Hammad believes it is too early to start thinking about the long-term futures of on-loan strikers Asamoah Gyan and Yasser Al-Qahtani.

Ghana star Gyan has been particularly influential in his side’s rise to the top of the Pro League, scoring 12 goals in just 11 league games, including the winner against Al Ahli last Friday night. Al-Qahtani’s season in the Garden City has been disrupted by injury but he has chipped in with seven goals in all competitions for Cosmin Olaroiu’s men.

With The Boss sitting seven points clear of title rivals Al Jazira at the top of the table, the club would be forgiven for letting their thoughts drift towards tying the pair to permanent deals with their current contracts set to expire in the summer.

However, while Hammad revealed a committee had been set up to deal with summer transfers, he insists The Boss still have work to do on the pitch to secure their 10th Pro League title, and should not allow themselves to get distracted from the task in hand.

“We should concentrate on the coming matches until the end of this season,” he said. “There is a special committee working on this side contacting the coach about the foreign and local players. Now we have delayed speaking about this case until the end of the season.

“However, the football committee in the club work with Cosmin, while he is following all league teams and he was impressed by some local players. In fact we seek stability in the club and make use of all players available.

“Some players are in the focus of Cosmin and despite it not being easy to get a local player, it is more difficult than getting a foreign one, but we will work on getting some players sought by the coach because we are in the AFC Champions next season in addition to some other participations which require getting some excellent players.”

Hammadi also praised the club’s fans, who paid tribute to the victorious UAE Olympic team at the start of last weekend’s 1-0 win over Ahli, standing for an impromptu rendition of the national anthem.

He added: “Al Ain fans celebration of the Olympic team is a clear evidence of their distinction and I wish they keep it up leading the other fans to do the same positively to hit the targets. Al Ain fans played a major role this season by attending the matches and supporting their team remarkably.”