Marseille defender Hiroki Sakai is currently negotiating a contract extension with the Ligue 1 side, according to L’Équipe.

Sakai joined Marseille from Hannover in 2016 with an initial contract until 2020, which was then extended for an additional year in September 2017. It is reported that the parties are in talks for further extension.

Outside of his time away during the Asian Cup, the Japan international has been ever-present in the team this season. Despite the club’s drop in performance this campaign, Sakai’s effort has received praise from both media and fans.

Website “footmarseille” called Sakai “one of Marseille’s few bright spots this season”, while “le Phoceen” described him as “one of the few who played well this season, and has been doing that again and again since he joined in summer 2016.” It went to mention that when he was away for the Asian Cup, “it was a hard blow to the team,” and that on his return, Marseille went back to playing well.

Sakai is ranked second in the team in terms of average ranking this season, behind defender Boubacar Kamara. In a recent survey, an overwhelming 96% of 3,400 votes welcome his contract extension.

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Source: Yahoo

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