Oussama Assaidi is looking to harness the frustration of never getting a “fair chance” in the Premier League and use it to excel with new side Al Ahli.
Assaidi, 26, was presented to the media at Rashid Stadium yesterday after his Dh26 million (£4.75m) move from Liverpool was rubberstamped with the opening of the winter transfer window. He is expected to add much-needed dynamism and flair to the Red Knights, helping to ignite last season’s treble winners’ faltering campaign.
The Morocco winger – who revealed a potential move to Ahli was blocked last summer – arrives after the second of two season-long loan spells at Stoke City was cut short after his parent club was offered the chance to cash in.
Assaidi made only four top-flight appearances at Liverpool after joining from Dutch outfit Heerenveen in 2012. He excelled during his first temporary move to Stoke but started only three games in all competitions this term.
Speaking at yesterday’s press conference, Assaidi spelled out his desire to repay the faith shown in him by his long-term suitors and revealed kind words from ex-Ahli midfielder Karim El Ahmadi and coach Henk ten Cate swayed him to make the switch to Dubai.
He said: “Al Ahli have big confidence in me, that’s what I need and what I didn’t get in England. If you look at Liverpool, I never got a fair chance and at Stoke City I was one of the better players I think.
“This year, I didn’t play so much. I missed the confidence of the clubs. Everyone I talked to spoke very well about Al Ahli. Henk ten Cate spoke very well about this club and also my best mate Karim El Ahmadi gave me a nice opinion and told me to go enjoy it.”
He added: “I wanted to come here before to Ahli but Stoke wouldn’t let me go. But I did everything so that they would let me go and now I’m here and and I’m very happy.”
Assaidi makes his entry at a difficult moment for Ahli.
Their laboured AGL defence sees them marooned in sixth, while coach Cosmin Olaroiu is set to return after an unsuccessful loan stint at Saudi Arabia ended with group-stage elimination at the Asian Cup.
Red Knights CEO Ahmed Khalifa smiled playfully when asked about the addition of further foreign and domestic players before the market closes on February 12.
He said: “Maybe something will happen. We don’t know about the future but we are always trying to improve the team by signing new players. That’s how we work. Wait and see until February 12, maybe something will happen before the end of the transfer window.”
Added intrigue was provided by the sight of Brazilian winger Ciel performing kick ups outside the media room on his way to training, just four months after suffering a double ankle fracture.
Khalifa insisted Olaroiu had been fully behind the move for Assaidi, while declaring Ciel would not be in contention to take up one of the quartet of foreign players slots just yet.
“Of course, all steps were taken with Cosmin’s knowledge,” he said. “He knew everything. Ciel is out of the list [of foreign players], he’s only recently fit and back training. The first match [of the second half of the AGL season] is less than two weeks away. I don’t think he will be fit, he’s a club player but he’s out of the list.”
