DUBAI // Al Wasl will make funds available for Hector Cuper to strengthen the squad when the transfer window opens next month.
The Argentine, who last month replaced Laurent Banide as coach, has used the past few weeks at the Zabeel Stadium to assess his resources and has since advised the club’s technical committee as to what positions require improvement.
Wasl’s foreign contingent will be altered, although for now the club would not confirm whether there would be significant change.
At the moment, Wasl have six expatriates competing for four slots, although only Mariano Donda, Milan Susak, Andre Senghor and Abdelfettah Boukhriss have featured during the first half of the campaign.
Kaio, the Brazilian signed in June, has returned to first-team training following injury, while Edson Puch, the Chilean sent out on loan last season, has been recalled. Cuper is currently evaluating the pair to see if they will continue beyond the Arabian Gulf League’s winter break.
Wasl have been linked with a number of players, chief among those Ronaldinho, the two-time Fifa World Player of the Year, who plies his trade in his homeland for Atletico Mineiro.
However, the club say the transfer is highly unlikely.
“We don’t want to talk about new foreign signings right now, but for sure there will be a change,” said Sultan Hareb, a Wasl board member. “It’s too early to speak about it now. We must keep it until the end of this month.
“We are working with the coach already. He has given us his requirements and we’re working on making them happen.”
Wasl sit seventh in the table, with today’s match against Al Ahli offering the opportunity to recover from last week’s disappointing 6-1 defeat by Al Nasr. Cuper, 58, has now overseen four matches across the league and President’s Cup, winning two and drawing the other.
The former Valencia and Inter Milan manager, who has signed an 18-month contract, arrived with an admirable CV, having guided Spanish club to two Uefa Champions League finals. Wasl, without a trophy since their league and cup double in 2007, have been impressed with Cuper’s capacity to improve the players both technically and psychologically.
They have again stressed patience with the new coach, as they do not anticipate a significant upturn in fortunes until Cuper has had the opportunity to recruit the players needed to make his mark on the squad.
“There is a very big task on him and on us for the next half,” Hareb said.
“The coach is hungry to build a team. He needs time to do that, but he is already motivated to do it. The Nasr loss is not something that has broken him or prompted him to stop. It actually helped him to correct some other ideas he initially had.
“Before the game he had an idea, but after it he had another requirement – not just focusing on the defence, which he had originally. We’re working with him to correct those things and to also improve the players we have here.
“We believe Cuper is a good person to put the foundation. Everybody knows him, and he doesn’t look to big names, but to the result and the plan he has.
“You’ve already seen it when he’s not played Senghor or Donda. He puts the needs of the team first.”
jmcauley@thenational.ae
Follow us on Twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
