Giovanni Sio loan seemingly sees Ittihad Kalba move onto second foreign quartet of window

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  • (Twitter/@ittihadkalbafc).

    The unprecedented summer churn at yo-yo club Ittihad Kalba looks to have been completed after a loan deal for Montpellier’s Giovanni Sio seemingly guaranteed their total interchange of the original foreign quartet brought in upon promotion to the Arabian Gulf League.

    Ivory Coast forward Sio, 29, inked a season-long loan deal on the east coast with a €1.6 million (Dh6.8m) option to buy late on Sunday night.

    The likely fall guy for the switch is Romanian playmaker Florentin Matei, who only arrived from Rijeka in May after promotion was earned from First Division League as runners-up.

    Puskas Akademia’s Croatia forward Antonio Perosevic’s poor early impression, Osmanlispor’s Nigeria midfielder Raheem Lawal’s broken ankle and issues registering Tigres UANL’s Brazilian anchorman Alan Santos mean they had already been dropped.

    In their place, Hungary’s ex-Al Wahda winger Balazs Dzsudzsak, Carabobo FC’s Colombian centre forward Tommy Tobar and MTK Budapest’s Brazilian striker Myke Ramos have come in.

    Promotion-winning coach Jorvan Vieira was also dismissed after last month’s top-flight opener ended with a 6-2 thrashing by title-chasers Al Wahda. Ex-AC Milan midfielder Fabio Viviani’s second spell in charge, however, has generated three wins from three to put them into a promising fifth place.

    Sio will be expected to extend this sprint up the standings.

    “Ittihad Kalba officially contracts with international striker Giovanni Sio, who holds French citizenship, from French club Monpellier on a one-season loan,” the Tigers tweeted, ahead of Tuesday’s transfer deadline.

    Well-travelled Sio came through the academy at Nantes, prior to 2007’s move to La Liga’s Real Sociedad.

    After just two top-flight run-outs, he was sold to Sion in September 2009. His tally of 17 goals in 48 Swiss Super League matches convinced Bundesliga giants Wolfsburg to spend €5m (Dh21.3m) on him in January 2012.

    The attacker failed to impress in the Bundesliga. His time at Volkswagen Arena and a loan move to Augsburg until January 2013 featured 16 goalless matches.

    A quartet of strikes in 13 Ligue 1 matches for Sochaux rejuvenated his career and convinced Basel to land him in August 2013. But he was bombed out by then boss Paulo Sousa in February 2016 and sent temporarily to Bastia.

    Permanent moves to Rennes and Montpellier followed. He leaves the former after notching 10 times in 37 appearances during 2017/18.

    Sio now joins an attack in which Ramos has two goals in two games, with Dzsudzsak chipping home a debut goal in September 21’s 2-0 win against Al Dhafra. Tobar is scoreless in three games.

    Kalba next travel to Shabab Al Ahli Dubai Club on Friday.

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