Baptistão: I will not leave in January

Rayo Vallecano striker, Leo Baptistão insisted that he has no desire to leave the club this January, after reports linked the young Brazilian with a move to cross-town rivals, Atletico Madrid in next month’s transfer window.

• By Tom Conn       Follow @TomConnISF

In an interview with the club’s official website, Baptistão spoke out about the transfer rumours ran by Spanish sports daily, AS, and in a message directed towards the fans, clearly stated that he is in no rush to leave the club and is content in Vallecas.

“I am very happy here, to ease the fan’s minds, I will not be leaving in January.  I am very happy and I owe everything to Rayo.  My history has been with this team.”

The striker trained normally with the team in Wednesday’s practice, after being sidelined for the past several days with back pain, but stated that he is ready to go for this weekend’s match against Real Zaragoza.

“We had a great match at El Sadar, we just missed the goal.  We worked very well, but now we must turn our focus to Zaragoza and get the three points against our people.  Jimenez has a great team and it will be a difficult match.

“We always try to do well and play at our highest level.  The team is very close, which helps us work a lot better.”