Americans Abroad

Reyna signs extension of one year at Manchester City.

By Robert Wagman (in Washington, D.C.)
SoccerTimes

(Friday, January 20, 2006) -- Claudio Reyna has signed a one-year extension to his contract with Manchester City of the English Premier League, running through June 2007.

The 32-year-old midfielder, who is recovering from minor surgery to repair a crack in a small bone in the back of his right ankle, was a key component in City's early-season success before going down in December, playing a deep midfield position and effectively linking his defense with the attack.

With Reyna out until mid February following late-December surgery, City has dropped to eighth place at 9-9-4 with 31 points. He played in 14 matches this season.

"I'm excited about the deal," Reyna told the Manchester City web site. "I was looking forward to signing the extension. The club's going in the right direction and it's nice because we have everything in place to continue the success over the next few years. I like where the club's going and it's a great place to play your football. There's really nowhere else I'd like to go.

"It's good going to the World Cup (with the United States men), knowing I'll be a Manchester City player. So it'll be nice to represent the club at the World Cup. It's just nice to know your future too and that the manager knows that I'd like to stay here."

City manager Stuart Pearce was quoted by the team as saying the extension is a reward for Reyna's commitment and professionalism and that he won't rule out the club extending his stay beyond 2007.

"He's an important player for us, Pearce said. "We miss him when he's not there and whenever he's been fully fit I've always picked him. That's a mark of how I respect Claudio. He's a great professional and a good man to have around the place. After considering everything, it was no problem for me, even with his age, to offer him another year's extension and maybe, if he does well longer, on top of that."

Reyna is working hard to get back into the lineup. "He's stepping up training," City coach Derek Fazackerley said. "He's working with the physios and doing his rehabilitation. It's so far, so good. He's not having any adverse reaction and hopefully he's on course within the timescale he was given, which was five-to-six weeks from the operation. He's two weeks down the line and probably three or four weeks away."

Reyna has four goals in 53 games for City who arrived in Manchester from Sunderland in 2003. He moved from Scotland's Glasgow Rangers to Sunderland in 2001.

Robert Wagman is a SoccerTimes senior correspondent. E-mail Robert Wagman.