President’s Cup holders Al Jazira are in advanced negotiations for Al Ain duo Ibrahim Diaky and Mohammed Fawzi and hope to imminently conclude a deal for Al Wasl midfielder Salem Abdulla.
The Pride of Abu Dhabi begin pre-season training Wednesday, mindful that a repeat of last term’s frustrating campaign in the Arabian Gulf League is not acceptable. To ensure a significant improvement on their seventh-placed finish is made, the club’s hierarchy are actively scouring the domestic market to bolster coach Henk ten Cate’s squad.
A return to Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium for midfielder Diaky, 34, will add significant experience to a youthful squad, while 26-year-old UAE right-back Fawzi offers an injection of class to a defence which was the third-worst during 2015/16 with 50 goals conceded. Talks with the Boss are expected to be concluded before the end of the week.
A more immediate arrival should be Cheetahs midfielder Abdulla. A deal is close to being agreed which will see erratic right-back Khalid Sabeal, 29, move to Zabeel Stadium in exchange. All of Jazira’s foreign contingent will reconvene in Abu Dhabi this evening except centre midfielder Park Jong-woo, who still has two weeks left of national service in South Korea. Particular attention will focus on Montenegro hot shot Mirko Vucinic and Peru forward Jefferson Farfan after their recoveries from long-term injuries.
Of their Emirati transfer targets, Diaky will be a familar face after scoring 52 goals in 215 appearan-ces from 2005-13. Fawzi last week denied on Snapchat a move from the Garden City was close to being concluded, but the allure of regular first-team football after losing his starting spot to Mohamed Ahmed during the second half of the season should prove too tempting.
Abdulla has featured in 41 top-flight games for Wasl since he moved from Al Ain in summer 2014, failing to find the back of the net during this period.
