DUBAI // Al Nasr have shifted focus to other targets after their bid to sign Roma’s Marquinho failed because the Brazilian prefers a move back to his homeland.
Nasr had an offer accepted by the Italian side last month, believed to be around €1.5 million (Dh6m), but they could not convince the midfielder to make the switch to the Arabian Gulf League.
Nasr remain in the market for three foreign players to complement Luis Jimenez, the new signing who replaces Brett Holman as the club’s Asian representative for the 2015/16 season. Pablo Hernandez, the Spaniard on loan last season, has not been retained despite helping Nasr capture both the Arabian Gulf Cup and President’s Cup.
However, the management maintain they will seek replacements for Ibrahima Toure and Renan Garcia only if they identify improvements on the pair. Toure was the league’s second most prolific striker last year, scoring 18 goals, while midfielder Garcia excelled in the latter part of the campaign at the heart of Ivan Jovanovic’s defence. An alternative for Marquinho remains a priority, though.
“We have alternatives and hopefully we can announce something very soon,” said a Nasr board member. “We have some players from the top leagues in Europe and South America, so we’ll see what happens.”
Meanwhile, Nasr have denied they are interested in Oscar Cardozo, the Paraguayan striker currently at Turkey’s Trabzonspor.
Reports emerged last week linking the Dubai club to the former Benfica forward, but they were wide of the mark, the club official said.
Nasr have had a number of enquiries regarding Toure, although they will wait to see if they can find a better option up front before considering those.
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