The Chilean striker Carlos Munoz was sent to champions Al Ahli in exchange for defender Saeed Suroor and Dh40 million on Thursday night in the biggest of several deals ahead of the Arabian Gulf League midnight Thursday transfer deadline.
The other major moves had Ahli moving Hugo Viana, the Portuguese midfielder, to Al Wasl and the latter club sending Mohammed Nasser, the Emirati forward, to Baniyas in a straight sale.
Read more: Al Ahli’s attacking struggles will not entice champions to open their wallet
Munoz, 25, had a productive first season with Baniyas in 2013/14, scoring 14 goals in 21 league matches, but he and Baniyas had started slowly this season. He had one goal in four league matches.
Ahli posted a tweet with Munoz posed next to the club logo. He was quoted as saying: “Ahli are the strongest club and it will be a great experience with a winning team. I will do everything for the club.”
Ahli are the defending league champions and will play in the Asian Champions League next year.
Munoz signed a four-year contract for Dh25m with the Dubai side and will be expected to fill the void in the Ahli attack left by the injury loss of Ciel, the Brazilian winger who suffered two breaks to his ankle and likely is out for the season.
Suroor could be a useful piece for Baniyas; the left-back was a member of the 2012 UAE Olympic team and appeared in 19 league matches two seasons ago, but has been seldom used by Ahli since.
Baniyas had tried to pry the forward Ahmed Khalil from Ahli, where he sees only occasional duty, but they decided to keep the UAE international. Baniyas likely would have made him a regular in their first XI.
The Abu Dhabi side, on their Twitter feed, suggested they received a “huge” amount of cash from Ahli in the deal, in addition to Suroor.
Viana will replace Neto Barola in the Wasl side. The Dubai club have managed only two points from four league matches and currently reside in the relegation zone.
Meanwhile, Wasl were keen to move Nasser, who could not get into their first XI this season. He did score seven goals in 17 league matches last season and could be set to be a fixture for Baniyas.
It is expected Baniyas were trying to sign a fourth expatriate Thursday night, to fill the spot left open by Munoz’s departure. Luis Garcia, the coach, earlier had complained of having only one forward, Munoz, and a second player up top would seem to be a priority.
poberjuerge@thenational.ae
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