| The National

A week after calling off their bid to bring Jorge Valdivia back to the Arabian Gulf League, Fujairah are back in the hunt with a renewed offer and look set to get their man, according to reports in Brazil.

Fujairah, who returned to the top flight after finishing second in division one last season, made international headlines last month when they claimed they had secured the Chilean playmaker in a stunning deal.

Valdivia, 30, arrived in the country on July 18 to sign the contract, it was thought, but flew out two days later on the day he was to be introduced at a news conference.

Fujairah, at the time, had claimed he was returning home because of his wife’s illness.

A few days later the club conceded the deal had fallen apart, with rumours claiming that interest from another AGL club was responsible for Valdivia’s change of heart.

The Chilean has not contacted his Brazil club, Palmeiras, since his return from the UAE, with reports suggesting he is vacationing in Miami, but Furlan Osorio, who owns 36 per cent of the player’s rights and invested €2 million (Dh9.8m) to bring him to the Brazilian club in 2010 after two seasons at Al Ain, is confident Valdivia will be a Fujairah player in the coming days.

“Valdivia will go to Al Fujairah now,” Osorio was quoted as saying on Brazilian website Globoesporte.

“I believe the transfer has been finalised after analysing the details of what had already been discussed.”

According to reports in Brazil, Fujairah had offered €4 million (Dh19.7m) for the player, which did not meet Osorio’s estimation. Valdivia also wanted a better deal for himself, increasing his demands after agreeing to personal terms.

The club have returned with a renewed €5.5m offer, to be paid in five instalments.

Should Valdivia choose to turn down the new offer he will have to look for another club, as Osorio has ruled out a return to Palmeiras, who own 54 per cent of the player’s right.

At US$400,000 (Dh1.5m) a month, Valdivia is the highest-paid player at Palmeiras, but the Sao Paulo club, who are struggling with their finances, are keen to get him off their roster.

“He will not be back at Palmeiras,” Osorio said.

“There could be other options, though we don’t know them yet. We will get a clearer picture in the coming days.

“This has been a soap opera, but I believe it will have a happy ending.”

Palmeiras officials have refused to comment on the situation until they speak to Valdivia.

“We are waiting to hear back from him,” Carlos Brunoro, the chief executive of Palmeiras, told the Lancenet newspaper.

“We would like to first talk to the player to find out what really happened.

“So let us wait. We cannot talk about something when do not have the details.”

Officials at Fujairah refused to comment on the reports as Sharif Al Awadhi, the vice chairman of the club stated: “At this moment, we have nothing to say from our side.”

arizvi@thenational.ae