Former Man City striker Alvaro Negredo putting final touches on Al Nasr move from Besiktas

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  • Al Nasr are on the verge of making former Spain centre forward Alvaro Negredo this summer’s premier addition to the Arabian Gulf League.

    Negredo, 33, was on Monday putting the final touches to the eye-catching switch after Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that a €1 million (Dh4.3m) transfer fee had been agreed with Super Lig giants Besiktas. He had departed for Dubai on Sunday and was not pictured with team-mates in Istanbul as they began preparations for Thursday’s Europa League, Group I-opener against Norway’s Sarpsborg.

    The ex-Real Madrid, Sevilla, Manchester City and Valencia striker has been offered a gargantuan contract worth up to €7m (Dh30.1m) per season, according to AS. The deal – which should imminently go through, barring any last-minute hitches – represents an emphatic response by the Blue Wave after they surprisingly lost both opening top-flight fixtures.

    Former France centre midfielder Yohan Cabaye had previously been the club’s major piece of business. The latest high-profile signing will replace Brazilian target man Iury de Castilho in the four-player foreign quota – he hasn’t impressed since being picked up from Ukraine’s Zorya Lugansk in June.

    This will leave forward Samuel Rosa – formerly of relegated Hatta – and Corinthians loanee Marquinhos Gabriel under the control of under-pressure coach Ivan Jovanovic.

    Negredo – nicknamed La fiera de Vallecas (the beast of Vallecas) – has been linked with a move away from Vodafone Park since 2017/18 ended with a disappointing fourth-placed finish. He rejected a move to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr last month, while his demands caused A-League-outfit Sydney FC to pull out of the running at the same time.

    Despite the uncertainty surrounding his future, a return of three goals in four 2018/19 appearances points to a continued lethality.

    In total, Negredo has struck 237 times in 582 club appearances.

    The well-travelled front man began his career at minnows Rayo Vallecano, before being picked up by Real Madrid B. He would fail to make any La Liga appearance for the capital heavyweights even though he starred on loan at Almeria and was sold to Sevilla in 2009.

    The most-productive spell of his career – 85 goals in 182 matches – saw him picked up by City for £16.4m (Dh90.2m) in July 2013. The next season’s Premier League and League Cup would follow, before he fell out of favour and returned to Spain with Valencia.

    Negredo did not spark there or on loan at Middlesbrough – and Besiktas rescued him in August 2017. There he would score 18 goals in 46 run-outs.

    The Beast was part of Spain’s victorious Euro 2012 squad. He has 10 strikes in 21 caps, his last call-up coming in March 2014.

    Nasr will hope Negredo represents a vast improvement on the last superstar centre forward they bought. Italy’s Luca Toni scored just five times during 13 games in 2011/12’s miserable spell, prior to reinvigorating his career at Fiorentina and Hellas Verona.

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