Al Wahda make early moves in the transfer market

Gabon forward and Jordanian defender to join capital club

Eric Mouloungui has joined Al Wahda from Ligue 1 side Nice, the forward played for Gabon in the African Cup of the Nations.

ABU DHABI // Eric Mouloungui, the Gabon international, will be unveiled Thursday as Al Wahda's first signing as the club gets a head on start to replace their foreign players for the next season.

The 28-year-old forward, who has spent the past 10 years in France, will become the first new foreign signing for Wahda in the summer.

Anas Bani Yaseen, the Jordan defender who has already completed the medical at the Abu Dhabi club, is expected to join them after finishing his contract with Al Qadsia of Kuwait.

Mouloungui moves from Nice, the French Ligue 1 side, where he has been since 2008.

He rejected an offer from English Premier League club West Ham United last year.

Toufeeq Abdulrazzaq and Abdullah Al Noobi are also returning to the Abu Dhabi club in the summer on three-year contracts after playing for Al Dhafra three years.

The Western region club were relegated in 2010/2011 and failed to return to the top flight this year.

Wahda are not wasting any time in preparing for the next season under their new coach Branko Ivankovic.

Wahda were inactive last season and shipped out several players, either sold or released.

Hamdan Al Kamali, the captain of the UAE Olympic team during the qualifiers for the London Games, was one of them, moving to Lyon, the top-flight French club, on a six-month loan.

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