The future of Al Shabab striker Edgar Bruno will be the main topic of conversation when the club’s board meet to discuss summer transfer plans.
Edgar, 28, has been a key figure since he signed from Portugal’s Vitoria Guimaraes in July 2012 – initially on a one-year contract.
But the Brazilian’s return has fallen to eight Arabian Gulf League goals in 2014/15 compared to 14 and 15 in his previous campaigns, leading to calls for change amid interest from teams in South Korea and China.
A continuation with fellow foreigners Carlos Villanueva, Azizbek Haydarov and Henrique Luvannor will be rubberstamped after a brilliant campaign which saw the GCC Club Cup added to a third-placed AGL finish.
There is uncertainty about the last slot in their four-player foreign quota, although Shabab’s director of professional activity, Abdulla Rashid Al Suwaidi, insisted no definitive decision will be made before the high-level discussion.
He said “Any decisions on how we go on in the summer will only be made during this meeting. Nothing has been decided at this stage.”
Meanwhile, Al Wasl hope to immediately follow up re-signing influential central midfielder Hugo Viana with fresh one-year loan deals for Ederson Alves and Caio Canedo.
The Cheetahs’ expat players excelled following coach Gabriel Calderon’s appointment last October.
Fabio De Lima will undertake the second season of a two-year temporary deal from Atletico Goianiense in 2015/16, while talks with Atletico Paranaense (for Ederson) and Internacional (Caio) are under way.
He said: “We are under negotations for Ederson and Caio,” confirmed Wasl’s team manager Majed Obaidallah.
“We are discussing more one-year loans rather than permanent deals."
Elsewhere, newly-promoted Dibba Al Fujairah have begun preparations for their top-flight return with the acquisition of experienced former Al Dhafra centre-back Bilal Najjarin.
