Al Ain currently plan to see what happens with mothballed striker Douglas before they complete their four-player foreign quota.
Douglas, 29, was deregistered by the Boss in the New Year following a crisis of confidence in the wake of his critical penalty miss during defeat in the 2016 AFC Champions League final. But a scoring record of 29 goals in 46 games since his January 2016 arrival from Japan’s Tokushima Vortis has generated plenty of interest in him, with Qatar’s Al Gharafa plus the Chinese pair of Tianjin TEDA and Yanbian Fude all recently failing with bids.
An inability to complete the sale has had a knock-on effect in regards to the Boss’ incomings. Their pursuit of a winger has been parked, for now, until funds are brought in from the exit of the Brazilian, who has one year left on his deal.
Among the targets pursued are prolific Partizan Belgrade forward Leonardo, rising Parana Clube playmaker Renatinho and winger Guilherme of Ekstraklasa holders Legia Warsaw. Al Ain have until August 6 to register all players for the latter stages of the 2017 AFC Champions League, where they meet Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in the quarter-finals on August 21 and September 11.
They have already recruited Sweden No9 Marcus Berg from Panathinaikos and Japan defensive utility man Tsukasa Shiotani of Sanfrecce Hiroshima. Brazilian forward Caio has been retained after he scored 18 times in 45 matches during an impressive debut campaign.
Meanwhile, Brazilian giants Cruzeiro have been linked with landing Sharjah centre-back Digao.
Digao, 29, made 19 run-outs in the Arabian Gulf League last term after being procured from Hilal. UOL Sport have stated he could be set for a return home if an early release from his two-year arrangement is successfully negotiated.
