Emirates Club pull off transfer coup with deal for prolific Serie A scorer Cheick Diabate

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  • Arabian Gulf League strugglers Emirates Club have pulled off one of the biggest transfer coups in their history with the capture of Cheick Diabate, a prolific scorer in last term’s Serie A.

    Diabate, 30, rocketed in eight goals during 11 matches at bottom-placed Benevento – including a brace against champions Juventus – during a half season on loan from Turkey’s Osmanlispor.  This sensational run of form by the towering Mali centre forward, however, did not lead to a switch within Europe prior to most transfer windows closing at the start of September.

    He has now headed to Ras Al Khaimah to join perennial relegation battlers. His new employers required a play-off to survive in 2017/18 and have scored just once when losing both top-flight fixtures this campaign.

    The Falcons’ new-look foreign quartet already included JS Kairouan defensive midfielder Aboubacar Sylla, Ajman playmaker Bakary Kone and Vancouver Whitecaps forward Bernie Ibini-Isei.

    New coach Jalel Kadri of Tunisia will need to engineer a profitable link-up with the latter-mentioned Australia international. This will be key to their survival hopes, as they seek to extend their AGL stay into a seventh campaign.

    Diabite came through the youth system at Ligue 1 outfit Bordeaux, for whom he scored 66 times in 152 run-outs from 2006-16.

    A move to the Super Lig with Osmanlispor did not work out and he helped Metz avoid relegation in 2016/17 with eight goals in 14 Ligue 1 appearances when on loan.

    Another temporary switch to Benevento saw him excel in Italy, despite his side’s struggles.

    His goal-scoring form was such that with six strikes in three games during April he equalled a long-standing Serie A-record held since 2001 by Piacenza striker Dario Hubner.

    Links to Bologna and Genoa in Italy, plus Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, then surprisingly came to nothing in the summer.

    The colossal attacker – who has netted 15 times in 39 internationals – should now make his AGL debut for the Falcons on Thursday at fellow minnows Dibba Al Fujairah.

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