Al Ahli play down interest in signing Majed Naser from Al Wasl

Chairman distances club from speculation over a move for the controversial Al Wasl goalkeeper.

Majed Naser has been linked with a move to Al Ahli.

DUBAI // Al Ahli have dismissed media reports linking them with a move for the Al Wasl goalkeeper Majed Naser.

Naser is serving a 17-match ban for slapping the Ahli coach Quique Sanchez Flores after the Etisalat Cup semi-final in March, and Wasl have requested that the Football Association ban him for the entire next season after he butted an Al Muharraq player in the GCC Champions League final last month.

Recent reports suggested Diego Maradona's club were willing to off-load their tempestuous but talented goalkeeper, who is contracted with Wasl till 2014, and Ahli were reportedly very keen to sign him and willing to bid as much as Dh20 million.

However, Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah, the chairman of Ahli, has issued a blunt denial on his Twitter account, also shooting down rumours that the Brazilian midfielder Magrao would join the side.

"I will not deny every rumour that appears in the newspapers or forums," he tweeted. "There is no agreement or contract with them. Ended."

Ahli have shortlisted Italy, Spain and Holland as their destination for the pre-season camp, but have left the final decision to Sanchez Flores, who is expected to return to Dubai in mid-July.

The players will assemble on July 17 for their medicals and will have an internal training camp during the month of Ramadan, with one training session a day for the Emirati players and a special programme for the foreign players. The team is expected to leave for their 15-day foreign camp three days after Eid Al Fitr.

Sources at Wasl, meanwhile, have confirmed Maradona is negotiating with the Argentines Rodrigo Brana and Martin Rolle, and the talks are at an "advanced stage".

Brana, a member of the Argentina team that defeated Ecuador 4-0 last month in a South American 2014 World Cup qualifier, is a defensive midfielder who has been playing with Estudiantes in his home country since 2005 and is one of their biggest stars.

The La Plata-based club, however, are now looking to move their highest-paid player and Wasl seems to be the likeliest destination for Brana, 33, though other Argentine clubs have expressed interest. Rolle, 27, plays for Olimpo in Argentina as an attacking midfielder.

Wasl are also looking for an Asian player after the new management of the club decided against Maradona's advice to renew the deal for the Iranian Mohammed Reza Khalatbari. Maradona wanted to retain Khalatbari in the squad as, "he was not sure if they can find an Asian player of similar quality", the source said.

Maradona is expected to return from Argentina on July 23 and the club are considering Spain and Austria as venues for the team's pre-season training camp.

Al Jazira have apicked Austria as their base for the pre-season camp and the coach Paulo Bonamigo is expected to arrive next week to begin their preparations for the next season.

There have been reports in recent days about a Dubai club bidding for the Jazira veteran Ibrahim Diaky, but a club spokesman has dismissed those speculations.

"We have not received any offer from any club in the country, and we don't intend to entertain any such offer," he said. "Diaky is an important and integral member of the team, and we renewed our contract with him."

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