Dubai: Al Ahli coach Cosmin Olaroiu on Sunday refused to comment on the expected arrival of Senegalese striker Moussa Sow from Fenerbahce.
The Turkish club released a statement on Friday confirming the 29-year-old forward was on his way to Dubai to complete an Arabian Gulf League record €17 million (Dh70 million) transfer to Rashid Stadium.
The statement confirmed: “Officials from Fenerbahce and Al Ahli are meeting at the request of the player to conclude the deal. Al Ahli have until Monday to complete the deal, at which point the transfer will be finalised.
“We would like to thank Moussa Sow for his important service to the club and wish him success at his new club.”
But when asked to comment on the transfer in a press conference to discuss Al Ahli’s Arabian Gulf Cup opener at home to Emirates Club on Monday (7.20pm), Olaroiu shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m not talking about transfers,” he said. “I will only talk about the team with the players I have.”
Fenerbahce sporting director Guillana Terraneo had earlier said of Sow: “You were also a very important player for our project. We did not want you to leave, but that’s life. I wish you success. I tried hard to keep you, but you want to go.”
Sow himself said: “I want to thank everyone who supported me. I’ve had a lot of experiences in my career but Fenerbahce has been the best. I had many beautiful moments here. The crowd always supported me.”
Reports in the Turkish press suggest Sow will attend Fenerbahce’s home game against Antalyaspor in Istanbul on Sunday night to bid fans a final farewell.
If the deal goes ahead, Sow will replace Moroccan midfielder Osama Assaidi, completing the club’s foreign quartet alongside Brazilian midfielder Everton Ribeiro, Brazilian striker Rodrigo Lima and South Korean midfielder Kwon Kyung-won.
Sow’s arrival will have no bearing over Al Ahli’s ongoing AFC Champions League run, however, as the deadline for player registration for the latter stages of the competition was last month.
Of Al Ahli’s match against Emirates Club, Olaroiu said: “This is not the best competition for us because we are missing ten players through national team duty. Other teams don’t have this many players in the national team so will not be as affected.
“Despite this we will treat this competition as seriously as we can. It’s an opportunity for other players and youngsters to show they can become main team players. We will try our best to prepare for this game.
“Emirates were good last season and only lost their Arabian Gulf League opener this season [narrowly] 2-1 away to Al Nasr, so we have to treat this game seriously.”
