Is Kenya international Ayub Timbe headed back to China?

Kenyan international winger AyubTimbe Masika recently extended his loan deal at English Championship side Reading FC until the end of the season.

 Timbe, who joined the club from Chinese side Beijing Renhe on a six-month loan deal early this year, will now be at the club until the end of this month. A reliable source has confirmed that the speedy winger will return to China once the championship season ends.

He has been used very sparingly since he joined the club, coming in only thrice as a substitute with most of the times making the matchday squad but being an unused substitute.

According to Jonathon Low, a football journalist based in Reading, all indications are that Timbe will return to his club Beijing Renhe when his loan deal expires at the end of the month.

“I gather that Timbe has extended his loan deal until the end of the season so he will be sticking around for a few more weeks. However, by the sound of it he will be returning to Beijing when the contract finishes,” Jonathan told Nation Sport.

Jonathan, however, believes Timbe’s time at Reading hasn’t been the best and that he is only a victim of circumstances which have nothing to do with his ability as a footballer.

“He has looked relatively bright in games - he has pace, more than most of the players and likes to drive at opposition players - again, something not many Reading players do, but for whatever reason, the manager doesn't fancy him,” Jonathan opined.

“I don't know why  the team doesn't really play without wingers so perhaps that's the biggest issue. Mark Bowen, the Reading Manager, prefers to play with a 4-2-3-1 formation and it's hard to see where Timbe fits into that,” he added.

 Timbe sat on the bench the entire game once again on Tuesday as Reading suffered an embarrassing 3-0 home loss to Brentford,

 “He didn't come on in the Brentford game which was a surprise as Reading were very poor, they lost 3-0, but Bowen only made three changes. He could have made five and Timbe was one of the players left on the bench. It would have done him no harm to play for the final 15 minutes or so. That decision was a bit puzzling,” Jonathan said.

 “I can't see him playing much in the final six games, especially as he's going back to China.”

 Reading is currently 16th in the 24-team Championship table with 49 points having played 40 matches. Up next for them is an away game against bottom of the table Luton Town this evening (Saturday).