Chairman Laughs Off Jay-Jay Links

By Mark Heys
July 19 2005

Bolton chairman Phil Gartside has dismissed recent reports which suggested that Jay-Jay Okocha could be on his way to Qatari club Al-Rayyan.

Various news sources across Europe had linked the Wanderers captain with a move to the Middle East club, but this has since been strongly denied by Gartside who says that Okocha is happy at the Reebok Stadium.

"It is nonsense that Jay Jay wants to leave Bolton. He is under contract and is more than happy with life at the Reebok. He doesn't want to play for any other team but Bolton Wanderers" the chairman told the official website

The initial report suggested that Al-Rayyan would be preparing a excellent financial package to try and lure Okocha over to them as the next big import in their league, having successfully persuaded ex-Chelsea man Franck LeBeouf and Fernando Hierro, who spent last season with Bolton, on previous occasions.

Co-incidentally, Al-Rayyan are managed by Okocha's former Paris Saint Germain manager Luiz Fernandez, which is probably why this story has come around in the rumour circles.