City Stars coach Muyoti hopes to keep in-demand striker Etemesi as transfer window officially opens

©Nairobi City Stars.

FOOTBALL City Stars coach Muyoti hopes to keep in-demand striker Etemesi as transfer window officially opens

Joel Omotto 15:57 - 26.06.2023

The tactician wants to maintain his squad and feels the former Kangemi Allstars attacker is too important to be allowed to leave

Nairobi City Stars head coach Nicholas Muyoti is hoping that striker Kelvin Etemesi will stay at the club beyond this season despite speculation linking him with a move away.

The striker has scored 12 goals for Simba wa Nairobi, helping them to safety in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League where they finished 15th and that form has seen a number of rival teams express interest in him.

AFC Leopards, Ulinzi Stars, and FC Talanta are among teams that are said to be eyeing the former Kengemi All Stars forward but his coach feels the club should do everything in their power to retain him.

Muyoti is keen to have his team intact and only make a few adjustments as he believes that will be the only way for them to post consistent results and avoid being dragged into a relegation fight as it has been in the just-concluded season.

“The season has not been good, especially in the first leg but I am happy the second leg we did catch up and we managed to survive. It wasn’t easy but I congratulate the boys for a job well done,” Muyoti said after his team’s final match against Gor Mahia, which they lost 4-1 on Sunday.

“We need to maintain our squad, make sure that we keep this squad, then we have to see areas we can improve and we will be good to go.

“Etsemesi is still our player we have already confirmed that we want him here. We are waiting to see if he can extend his contract.”

City Stars started the season poorly, failing to win any of their opening eight games when they collected just two points from a possible 24, but an improvement in the second half of the season, especially the last two months saw them secure their top-flight status at the end of May, following a 2-1 victory over Leopards.