Michael Essien’s fate at Persib Bandung hangs in the balance

Newly appointed Persib Bandung coach Mario Gomez is unsure if Michael Essien will still be with his side next season though he commended the Ghanaian’s commitment.

The 34-year-old Essien joined Indonesian top flight side Persib Bandung on a one-year deal as a marquee player ahead of the start of the 2017 Liga 1 season and was given the option of extending his contract for a further year at the end of the 2017/2018 season depending on his performances.

However, the former Chelsea star was unable to lift the team into the top half of the table as they finished 13th on the standings despite being one of the five players with most playing minutes.

During Mario Gomez's presser, he was posed with questions about Essien’s fate in the team: "For a foreign player, Essien is a good player. He has a character, he can help the team, and he is senior. Therefore, we look first and we do not want to choose any foreign players too. We want to bring one striker and a foreign stopper, " Gomez said.

The sentiments of the Argentine trainer was echoed by his deputy, Fernando Soler, "We started working with local players first. Which is still less, we'll meet the boss to find other players. For foreign players, there must be two or three players. But do not know anyone yet. But we've chosen a local player, there are about 18 players," he said.

Essien's agent Amougou Mathieu stated last week that his client would want to continue his adventure at the Blue Prince next year.